The White Peapod

A special message

2011-05-08T12:59:00.001-05:00

To our Grammy, Nonnie, Gramma, Grandma Linda, Nana, Nana Agnes, Aunt Suzanne, and Aunt Renee (plus all the other beautiful mommies out there:)

Have a lovely day!

Happy Birthday Luke!

2011-05-07T22:02:00.001-05:00

Yes, the months have passed by without me writing or checking in.

However, I couldn't let today go by without acknowledging this very special day.
Today, Luke is two years old!

I've had a video camera since the twins were born (wonderful incredibly thoughtful gift) that has caused me more headaches and problems than you could possibly imagine (contrary to what my mom believes, I am not terribly technology advanced and even the simplest of gadgets tends to leave me scratching my head in confusion.)

Shortly after Luke was born, I decided to upgrade my camera to a DSLR (you know, because when you get one of those you automatically feel like a professional photographer, regardless of your lack of skill. At least until you see what the pros can do.) Anyway, I loved my camera, and I took a lot of pictures.
But alas, technology evades me once again. My camera randomly stopped working one day in February, and that was that. (I can get it fixed, and will, one of these days. Yes... one of these days... )

Anyway, yesterday I realized that Luke's birthday was upon us, and I'd be completely without any way to document the day. So the kids and I headed off to the store, and I decided Luke's birthday + Mother's Day = great justification for buying myself a new video camera. A very simple-to-use, even-a-monkey-could-figure-this-out video camera.

This is what I got:

and because of that, I can now share this:

We had decided not to have a planned party this year. We learned our lesson with the twins, as the "terrible two's" came on fast and hard with them. We figured it'd be the same with Luke, so instead, many months ago, purchased tickets to see Sesame Street Live (performers on stage) in lieu of a party.

However, seeing that Easter was so late this year, we ended up doing a family celebration with both sides of my family at our Easter dinners. So he actually ended up with not just one party, but two. Today, we decided we couldn't go without celebrating, so we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese (first time for any of them. They loved it, of course.) Between the impromptu Easter/birthday parties, today's celebration, and next week's Sesame Street concert, this kid basically is getting a month long birthday celebration! His poor brothers keep asking me, "When is our birthday?" :) I hope they aren't let down when they only get one celebration instead of four!

So, Luke is now two.
Here are some current happenings with him:
- He can count to 10. Easily. Sometimes he'll go to twelve just for the fun of it.
- He knows almost all letters by sight. I'm completely amazed by this. Maybe it's normal, I have no idea, but to me, he's a downright genius.
- He's in gymnastics. Soon I'll post videos, because it's really fun to watch. My sister got him lessons because we were worried he was a bit anti-social. This was in December. By February, he had turned into just about the friendliest little social guy around. Who knew? Anyway, he loves gymnastics, and today his brothers finally got to join their own class (after lamenting for weeks about missing all the fun.)
- He talks. A lot. We are working on tone of voice, because he's got two volumes: loud and really loud.
- He thinks he is one of the big boys. Of course.
- Somehow he manages to stay awake really late every night. Then he gets up really early every morning. Sleep is to Luke as oil is to water. We're workin' on it.
- He's fantastic. Just plain fantastic. God knew what he was doing when he surprised us with Luke, because he is just plain an amazing little boy. We love you, kiddo!! Happy 2nd birthday to you!!!

Is this thing on?

2011-01-25T08:59:00.000-06:00

Hello?
Anybody out there?

I know I've been away for a while, okay, a LONG while.
I could make excuses, but instead, how about I just apologize instead. SORRY!

We're in the midst of winter, life is continuing as usual. Chaotic, happy, busy.

Joel and 'Tisse (Evan continues to go by his middle name, which has been shortened to one syllable. Weird to write, easy to say, and for those who are wondering how to pronounce it in their heads, it rhymes with "peace",)...
Anyway, Joel and 'Tisse continue to go to preschool four days a week, 2 1/2 a day (really almost four hours, once you count the bus ride.) They love their teacher, I love their teacher, they love the bus, I love the bus. All is good. They are learning a lot, speech is improving (though still about a year behind, it's nice to finally understand some of what they have to say. Pronunciation isn't really too big of an issue; it's mostly that neither, especially 'Tisse, like to use sentences. Stories are still told in a mix of words, jibberish, and hand gestures. Joel was probably the inventor of sign language in a past life... he can tell entire movie plots through a series of signs, and people can understand about 90% of it!)

Personalities are now really individual with the twins. 'Tisse has been interested in watching Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen (when they were making the pre-teen movies) because he likes the pretty girls. :) He continues to be a huge soccer fan as well, and is interested in football and other ball sports. Joel is really into music. He asked for a guitar the entire month before Christmas. I don't really know what put it in his head, but he was adamant that it was the one gift he wanted. So, we got him a toy guitar (not what I would have pictured, but he picked it out himself) and sure enough, he loves that thing and plays with it every day. Last night I put on Elton John and he was rockin' out, dancing and playing guitar to the video. (Ignore the fact that it was Elton John; I'm a huge fan, so these boys are getting a taste of the greatest music ever at an early age. Hehe.)
Sharks are a big deal to both boys. Basically, life revolves around cars, trains, girls, ball sports, guitars, and sharks. Can you get any more boy than that?

For Christmas we asked for contributions toward a bunk bed set for the twins (they are already swimming in clothes and toys, and really only play with about a tenth of what they have, so there wasn't much reason to ask for anything else.) Thanks to our generous family, we were able to purchase a gorgeous hardwood bunk set that should last them forever. It is currently set up as two twin beds, since they aren't ready for a top bunk yet. They are set up in two separate rooms, and since both want to share a room, they just sleep together on one bunk every night. All three boys sleep in the same room now, which I love. Beds in one room, toys in the other, makes for a very clean bedroom and contained playroom! I love it. Nonnie (Janice, my stepmom) had told me many times that I would soon want a closed off playroom for the boys (instead of the entire downstairs set up that we've had for years), and she was right! Our house is finally, SLOWLY starting to once again take on a more homey appearance (instead of the Toy Store theme we've had for the past three years.) We've even got a new piece of artwork on the wall! Christmas gift from Todd to me. I love it.... we've been living here for over seven years and finally have something on the wall.

Luke is, well, he's just plain awesome. He's naughty, he's adventurous, he's stubborn, he's a genius (I think.) He's seriously just plain a really COOL kid. He thinks he's three and can do whatever his older brother do. He bosses them around, steals there food, tries to start wrestling matches, takes their toys. He's CUTE beyond belief. He drives me nuts every single day, but I can't help but love him, even in all the madness. He's 20 months now and getting about fifteen time-outs a day; when he goes to time-out, he'll either try and sneak out, or tuck his arms behind his head, stretch his legs out, and relax. What a booger. He's been a big fan of Dora until the past few weeks. We bought the boys a train set for Christmas, and now he's really into watching Thomas the Train instead. I'm happy about that, because I was pretty tired of Dora and Boots.

Random Recent pics:

'Tisse, looking rather old here, isn't he?

Christmas program at school. Joel in red, teacher behind him. Speech therapist in red, 'Tisse hidden next to her.

They love school and really love their teachers! I think she's pretty fond of them, too.

Joel; he's a ham. He LOVES getting his picture taken and poses frequently (usually making really goofy faces.)

Awesome kids.

Look, I got a watch for Christmas! Thanks, Grammy!

Our very first snowman. Not sure why Daddy went for the "evil" look.

Christmas jammies. Go Bears! (They all really like watching football.)

Bathtime is great!

A Child's Prayer

2010-11-10T13:36:00.000-06:00

A conversation with God, starring Mommy and Matisse:

Mommy: "Father God, thank you for our food"

'Tisse: "Yeah, food. And ba-pa"

"Yes, thank you for backpacks."

"An' bus"

"Thank you for our bus."

"Yeah, uder bus"

"Um, okay, thank you for the other bus, too."

"Yeah, uder bus"

"Okay, God, thank you for ALL the buses in the whole wide world."

"NO NO NO!"

"Scratch that. Not all the buses. Just thank you for the ones we can ride and the play with each day."

"Yeah. Ma-men."

October: A Photo Journal

2010-10-31T19:54:00.000-06:00

Well, I was going to just put up a bunch of photos for the month, but seeing as Blogger is messing with my head right now (really, I just uploaded a ton of photos and they disappeared immediately. Cruel and unusual torture, I swear...) Anyway, I'll start at the end, and the rest will have to come later. Meaning, another day.

Halloween: Our Little ~~Chefs~~ ~~Robots~~ Ghosts

Luke slept through trick-or-treating earlier in the day, but I ~~forced him~~ allowed him to go out later.

They INSISTED on being ghosts this year. I didn't even know they were aware of what a ghost is!

They screamed bloody murder when I tried to put the makeup on them. Oh well. Still cute (and comfy, too!)

Off they go!

Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no... uh oh! (Dora reference, for those that aren't in the DFC. Dora Fan Club, that is.)

We bought the owl specifically to rid of the squirrels in the yard. Apparently we forgot to tell the squirrel.

See the lollipop sticks around him? Those are the ones he had already eaten.

Food Allergy Awareness Walk

2010-09-10T13:14:00.000-05:00

Joel's Food Allergy Awareness Webpage

In honor of the boys 3rd birthday, please take a moment to click the link above to view details about the walk we are participating in next month. The goal of the walk is to raise money for food allergy research, a subject obviously very close to our hearts.
We are hoping to raise $250, so every little bit counts! Thanks!

Third Birthday Boys

2010-09-09T13:51:00.000-05:00

The twins turned three years old this week! Amazing. We decided to skip the great big party thing this year, and instead opted for a few smaller gatherings.

Birthday Celebration I: We bought the kids' tickets for a ride on Lake Michigan for the 2010 Tall Ships Tour. (Daddy was supposed to come, but had "very important plans" that day and couldn't cancel. So Grammy happily joined us instead.)
Our vessel was the Appledore IV:

I planned to take photos after we finished sailing (I figured it'd probably be best to actually hang on to my children during the sail itself!) Plans never quite work out as intended, though; by the time we were docking, both boys were squeezing their legs together, begging to go potty. As soon as we docked, I rushed with them off the boat and across to ~~the nearest~~ what I thought was the nearest restroom.
Hurray for Google images! This isn't our ride, and obviously isn't
Chicago, but it IS the Appledore IV!

Here's one of the few images I actually took on board. You can see how much attention they give me when I try and take pictures.

After sailing, we spent a few hours walking around Navy Pier through large crowds of people. I recently learned of a great tip for taking kids to crowded events: write your cell phone number on your child's arm, so if he gets lost, someone can instantly call you. That day, I also learned the caveat to this tip: you actually have to have a pen that writes well enough on skin so someone can read it. Instead, I settled for writing it on a scrap of paper and shoving it into each boys' pocket. Happily, we stayed together and never had to find out if this trick actually works or not. (When the boys came home, Todd later was telling me, in amazement, about the random piece of paper that he found in Joel's pocket with my phone number on it. I'm not quite sure how he thought it got there...?)

We came back and brought the boys to our new favorite restaurant, Red Robin, to celebrate with a birthday dinner. (This is "our favorite restaurant" because they are very allergy friendly and have a great plan in place to keep things as safe as possible.) They ended the meal with a song for the boys, to which each child promptly hid his head in Daddy's arms. They brought out the obligatory ice cream dessert, which the boys could not eat (due to allergy risk), but the adults could (except for me, as I'm allergic to milk.) So instead, the boys were given birthday mandarin oranges. Mmm, mmm!

Birthday Celebration II: We were scheduled to have a small birthday party with some old friends in our backyard. The theme was a campout, and I had great plans to make it the greatest campout the boys had ever experienced! (I chose the theme at the beginning of the summer, assuming we'd be taking the kids camping a couple of times this year. We never did. So this would have actually been the only campout they've ever experienced.) But, seeing as our family motto is "plan a little, change a lot", the week before the party, sickness+mosquitoes+whatever else forced us to cancel the camping party. Instead, we decided to go a local bouncy land called Monkey Joe's. It's filled with giant inflatable slides and mazes that the kids can enjoy to their little hearts' content! Everyone had a great time!

After finishing playtime, we headed over to Colonial Cafe for dinner, presents and birthday desserts.

Playtime with friends, waiting for the "surprise" to arrive.

When the waitress brought out "The Kitchen Sink" (a giant sundae served in a sink), we anticipated a slightly different reaction from the boys. Evan Matisse laid his head down, and Joel got up from the table and stood behind me. At least the rest of the kids enjoyed it!

Don't act too enthusiastic, Evan Matisse!

After the singing, everyone (including the twins) dug into their giant dessert. Luke didn't get a bowl, but he did get to eat the bananas!

And of course, what's a birthday party without cake? I made these ice cream cone cupcakes to fit the setting:

Some kids ate them up; others (like mine) wanted nothing to do with them. I'm just going to tell myself it's because they were too full.

It was a great birthday for the boys, and very stress free (a first for me!) The celebration isn't quite over; we'll be getting together with my dad's side this weekend to celebrate. Lucky kids, they don't just get a birthday, they get a birthday month!

Three year checkup stats:

Joel- 30.5lbs, not very tall (I forget the heights), will be needing glasses in a year or so (astigmatism in both eyes). Tiny, but otherwise healthy!

Evan Matisse- 28lbs, not very tall either, great eyesight, healthy boy!

Oh, and just to show how much they are indeed "boys" now (not babies), you notice my new way of referring to Evan? That's because he and Joel have both decided they prefer to call him Matisse (his middle name) instead of Evan. We parents are slowly trying to make the switch (which I actually agree with, since Evan seems to be way too popular of a name these days.) If I show the boys baby photos of themselves, they will tell me the one picture is "Goal" (their way of saying "Joel"), and the other pictures is "Teese" (what they usually call ~~Evan~~ Matisse.) They've really committed to the change!

Family Time at Stearns Woods

2010-08-02T12:58:00.000-05:00

Sundays are supposed to be church days, but since the kids can't be in the daycare (because of the peanut allergy, it is too risky), we've decided instead to devote Sundays to being family days. (We do devotions at home, so we still are able to get in our time with God, too. And our pastor's weekly message is available for listening online, which allows us to hear him without being there. He's amazing and I miss getting to attend church each week, but it is just too risky for the boys at this age.) We've been really trying to make each week something special and different that we can really remember as time with one another. This week was no different, so we decided Sunday was the perfect day to take the kids hiking.

Hiking with three under three is pretty slow; Joel likes to search for bugs, and Evan likes to stop and examine anything that catches his eye (which is pretty much every single thing around.) Luke was actually the quickest of the three, and at times, getting stuck behind his brothers, was pushing them, trying to get them to move faster. (Finally he was able to escape from behind them and took off, leading us the family the rest of the way.) Though it was slow going, we had a great time, and I can't wait to bring them out again.

Luke and Daddy

Freedom makes Luke happy

Always trailing behind, but this time they found something!

Acorns, just like Tinkerbell uses!

Evan found a beautiful mushroom

Near the end, two of three are worn out;

Joel is never worn out.

It was a lot of fun, but hopefully next time we'll not have to contend with nearly as many mosquitoes. We loaded ourselves up with OFF (yuck) before and during the hike, but even so, ended up with swarms following us and biting the few spots we had apparently missed. Joel is allergic to mosquitoes (surprise, surprise), so he's got a few swollen spots today, but I think even he would agree that a few pesky bites are worth the fun we had on the trail.

Don't Pee on My Carpet and Tell Me It's Juice!

2010-07-13T23:15:00.001-05:00

Have you ever heard of this book title? It instantly came to my mind today, with a slightly different twist.

As I may or may not have mentioned, the twins are now completely potty trained (hurray!) Except, Joel likes to use his freedom as a weapon, specifically when he is upset. If you happen to be holding him when he starts crying, watch out, you're gonna get wet (as one of his aunts recently discovered... sorry, Renee.)

Today he was without bottoms, as we take them off for quiet time (for easy bathroom access if either of them needs to go.) Quiet time ended (or rather, the boys refused to stay quietly in their rooms any longer), so they were out, but still bottomless.

While upstairs cleaning, I heard Joel throwing a tantrum, so I went down to check on him. Immediately I saw a stream of wetness on the carpet and knew what had happened. The conversation that follows, well, let's just say I'm not worried about any cognitive delays:

Mommy: "Joel, did you PEE on the carpet? We do not PEE on the carpet!"
Joel: "No, Juice!"
Mommy: "Don't tell me that's juice! I can tell that it's pee. It's even on the kitchen floor!"
Joel: "NO! JUICE!"
Evan: "No, Monny! Juice!" (Yes, he lovingly refers to me as Monny instead of Mommy.)
Mommy: "You're telling me that it's juice on the floor, not pee?"
Joel: "Yes!"

Mommy, frustrated, walks into the kitchen. And hears:

Evan (to Joel): "Juice?"
Joel (to Evan): "No, pee."

WHAT? He's informing Evan that it is indeed pee?!

Mommy: "JOEL! I just heard you tell Evan that this is pee on the carpet!"
Joel (in his sweet little angelic voice): "No, Mommy, juice!"

Stinker. One absolutely adorable stinker.

(Don't worry, though. I got him back. We had a long talk about how Jesus wants us to tell the truth, which pushed him to tears. Which, of course, was followed by lots of cuddling, singing lullabies, and "Mommy loves you forevers." Oh yeah... I totally got him back... uh, right?)

Independence Day

2010-07-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

Three years ago today, I was checking into a hospital room, told that I was developing preeclampsia, and that I was going to need to stay hospitalized until my body would force our twins to be born (very) early. I was 24 weeks pregnant; the doctors were hoping that I'd make it to week 27.

I laid in bed, catching glimpses of fireworks rising above the trees outside my window. It was a very lonely 4th of July.

Praise God that the doctors were wrong! I did NOT develop preeclampsia, they were NOT delivered too early (they were born at 35 weeks, which was only one month premature.)

Since that day, 4th of July has really meant something special to me. I recognize and celebrate our country's freedom, but more importantly, I celebrate God as the ultimate doctor and healer!

We had a great weekend with family. Both my brother (plus girlfriend) and sister (plus fiance) were around, so we trekked out to my parents for a fun weekend together. We spent most of the time in the pool, which Joel loved, Evan liked, and Luke almost tolerated.

First time swimming with water wings. They became pros in no time!

Sunday, the 4th, was spent at our house with Grammy, Grampy, and Uncle Scott visiting. I had gotten them basic matching outfits, which they promptly soaked in the pool. Just by chance, when I changed their clothes, they still ended up in red and blue!

We are hoping to make it to the parade today, followed by fireworks this evening. I'm thinking the boys will love it, if we can just get them to stay up that late.

June... My Kind of Month!

2010-06-30T00:34:00.000-05:00

We've had a very busy month! Here are the recaps.
Joel and Evan have officially started speech therapy. Testing showed that there expressive language (actual speaking) is about that of a 20-month-old. (So about a one year delay; both tested the exact same in every area.) They don't have actual speaking issues (no problems with articulation, fluency, etc.), so they are receiving developmental therapy services instead. They love their therapist, Ms. Sam, and do a great job attempting to speak with her. Hopefully we'll see some quick improvements, because these boys have a lot to say and are getting frustrated that we just don't understand.

To aid in their speech, they will be starting preschool this fall! Due to the speech delay, they qualify for the early childhood (special education) program through our school district. They'll be riding a bus, attending four days a week (just 2 1/2 hours per day); I have very mixed feelings about this, but we had their full evaluations done today and the team all agrees they are in need of the services. Interestingly, they both tested above average in receptive language (understanding what others are saying.) Basically, that means we better watch everything we say, because as soon as they start talking, we're going to really find out just how much they've been listening!

All this speech stuff has pretty much consumed our month, but we've been finding bits of time to enjoy ourselves when possible. My youngest brother, Dylan, graduated high school this year, so we attended his graduation party and were able to see a lot of people (family and friends) that I have not seen in years. It was so wonderful, even though I was pretty distracted the whole time and couldn't converse too easily. (And, for those wondering, yes, I'm much older than my siblings. The closest in age is five years younger, and Dylan is a whopping twelve years younger than I am! I plan to use this to my advantage when I turn old and gray.)

On top of getting to see my side, we were able to make a short and sweet visit to visit Todd's family. It was only a few days, but still great to see them, as we only make it down there once or twice a year. Oh, and BONUS!... no carsickness this time! Could we possibly be outgrowing the issue? The boys actually did really well in the car, although the five hour drive was really closer to seven hours, mostly due to potty breaks for the twins every half hour. I guess that is the drawback to being potty trained; you actually have to let them use the potty whenever they need to!

And now, it's time for some eye candy:

Enjoying time outdoors

Joel givin' Luke a bit of love!

This is the best shot I could get of Evan and Joel together. The rest are all action shots! (As in, the blur of them running away from me.)

(Evan's in front, but you knew that, right?)

If I smile really sweetly, I bet she won't even notice that I've been eating a crayon!

Mellow Evan. He's been really easy going lately. I love it!

"Mellow" is not a word I use to describe Joel. Adjectives that better fit him:

mischievous, goofy, naughty (he especially likes that one!), active

Here they are a the local splash park. They love to run circles around the play area. I like the little girl who decided to join them in the fun; she followed them the entire time they ran!

June has been a great month, and I'd really prefer it just stick around! We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with a trip to a local waterpark resort. The kids loved it, Daddy loved it, Mommy loved it. Okay, maybe not the most romantic anniversary ever; in fact, our celebratory dinner was cut short (I had to bring Joel and Luke back to the room, and Evan stayed at the restaurant to finish dinner with Daddy.) Nevertheless, it was a fun trip, and something we look forward to doing again (should we ever forget that we are broke and can't really afford it.)

If Only It Were the Thought That Counts

2010-06-24T22:23:00.001-05:00

June To Do List (Cross out each item as completed):
Update blog once each week
Take photos of the boys... lots this month!
Schedule appointments for the boys: eyes, teeth
Plan camping trip
Take the boys to the pool a few days a week
Clean, REALLY clean the playroom
Have a garage sale
Send Luke's birthday thank you cards
Send Luke's birth announcements and thank you cards (found behind the microwave a year after writing them out)
Build a table for the tv
Build a storage bench
Make that two storage benches
Get wedding photos printed before our 7 year anniversary on June 21st

Wait, what? June is basically over?

Sigh.

~~June~~ July's To Do List (Cross off items upon completion)

Update blog once each week
Take photos of the boys... lots this month!
Schedule appointments for the boys: eyes, teeth
Plan camping trip
Take the boys to the pool a few days a week
Clean, REALLY clean the playroom
Have a garage sale
Send Luke's birthday thank you cards
Send Luke's birth announcements and thank you cards (found behind the microwave a year after writing them out)
Build a table for the tv
Build a storage bench
Make that two storage benches
Get wedding photos printed before our 7 8 year anniversary on June 21st (hey, lots of time left for this one!)

Yep, folks, sometimes that's the way it goes.

Luke Turns 1!!!

2010-05-25T21:19:00.001-05:00

On May 7th, Luke turned ONE! We had a small family party a week later. In case you weren't there to see it, here's a basic idea of what you missed.

Happy Birthday To You;

I don't like PEOPLE! Why are there PEOPLE HERE??

Happy Birthday To You;

Why won't these people just go away?! Get away from me!!

Happy Birthday Dear Lu-uke;

Ooh, Cake? I didn't know there'd be cake. It's MINE, ALL MINE!

Happy Birthday To You!

Get that camera away from me and my cake or so help me I'll pop you.

So, yeah, basically, he screamed and refused to let me put him down until he realized there was cake. In hindsight, I'd have made the inside of the cake look a bit more appealing, or at least cute for pictures. Oh well. Live and learn...

The party was a success, but not without a massive amount of stress beforehand. My dad and stepmom (Nonnie and Poppy) offered to host it at their house, which I'm sure they now regret. Live and learn, people!

To me, the party is all about the cake. Since our kitchen has was basically useless in the three weeks leading up to the party (No Counters + No Sink = No Cooking!), I wasn't able to prepare much of anything ahead of time. Which means the day before the party, I called Janice (aka Nonnie), begging her to bake a couple of sheet cakes so that I could quickly decorate them Saturday morning. Thankfully, she obliged. (Again... I did the same thing to her the night before the twins' 2nd party!)

Then I realized my cake design (which was based upon the invites that I had sent out) required me to also have a small round cake to serve as the "smash cake" for Luke. But seeing as I didn't have a kitchen, I had to get innovative with this one. I ended up buying pre-made dessert cake shells (you know the ones; they are always next to the strawberries at the grocery store) and stacking them to serve as my round little bee. Good enough.

Anyway, long story short, the cake did not turn out quite like I had envisioned (for some reason I keep thinking I'm a natural pro at this stuff; in reality, this is now 3 for 3 parties that have been a mad dash to get the cake made hours before the party... live and learn, what?) Regardless, it made the kid finally stop crying!

Here's the invite, cake, and some misc. decor.

---And thanks to my photographers, uh, I mean family, for taking pictures. Because once again, (another 3 for 3 on this one,) I managed to forget my camera. Technically, I didn't forget the camera, I just forgot the memory card. ---

The invite and matching cake (literally finished 10 minutes before people arrived.) Anyone else notice I forgot to give the bee his wings?

The party favors: Sticks of honey and honeycomb candy bars.

The cute bee windsock that I found inspired the party theme. He now hangs in front of our house! Oh, and Nonnie made these cute "It's my Bee-day" signs on the computer. Her ten minutes of work got more compliments than anything I spent hours preparing for the party. Sigh. :)

Imagine lots of yellow and black balloons and streamers (I told my husband, "twist the streamers when you put them up", and this is what he did. Not quite what I was going for. Oh well.) I had spent a decent amount of time making (decoupaging) this LUKE sign, which spent most of the party blown over. So everyone kept wondering what L__E meant. Now it is in his room, so still worth my time!

Well, that was the day. It was a bit chilly, but we enjoyed ourselves, and while Luke won't remember any of it, I like holding onto the memories (even if things never go quite as planned!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET BOY!

Hell in a handbasket? More like a shopping cart

2010-05-14T16:34:00.000-05:00

That's the only phrase that comes to mind as I relive today's eventful shopping trip in my mind.

Tomorrow is Luke's birthday party. I needed to do some shopping today to pick up a few last minute items... okay, I'll be honest. I needed to pick up about 90% of the items for the party.
Although I've sworn off shopping with the kids until they are over the age of 27, I decided that they've been so good lately, that we could venture out to the wonderful world of Target. In truth, they haven't necessarily been so good. They've just been slightly less bad. That, I thought, was good enough for a quick excursion.

Have I mentioned that these little buggers know how to toy with my emotions? They made me SO proud, getting dressed like normal children this morning. Instead of the knock-down-drag-out fight that usually ensues the moment I say, "Let's put on some pants", each boy stood there and LIFTED HIS LEGS INTO HIS PANTS. Even shirts went on with no problem. Surely, this was a good sign.

It's like God was smiling down on me when we walked out to the car. A typical trip from the front door into the van generally consists of me quickly grabbing Joel as he tries to run across the lawn, then shoving Evan into his seat as he immediately tries to climb into the front. This time, they walked straight to the van, climbed up and into their seats. Even Luke, who usually screams bloody murder as I try to buckle him into the seat, was in perfect smiles, and giggled away as I buckled him. Aah, yes, shopping today was going to be a glorious experience. So glorious, in fact, that I decided to make a leisurely day of our outing. Lunch in the food court, then after shopping at Target we'd hit the dollar store and Michael's. I LOVE being a stay at home mom, enjoying sunshine and beautiful children!

It was all a lie.
I'll say that now.

We arrived at Target and found the "two-seater" cart (which isn't terribly helpful when you need three seats.) The twins were excited to get into the giant orange buggy that attaches to the cart. The seatbelts are always broken on this thing, and if you've ever tried to push it you realize it's like trying to steer an ocean liner through iceberg-laden waters. Nevertheless, the day was going to be great, so I happily let my sweet angels climb into the seats and haphazardly attached the broken seatbelts. "So we can be safe", I reminded them, using my best Dora impersonation.
Not that I had any other choice in cart, but I quickly realized the problem with this dumb buggy-cart system. The orange buggy allows two children to sit down behind the cart; however, the typical seating area no longer has leg holes or a seatbelt. Which means that, in order for Luke to ride in the cart, he has to sit cross-legged and balance the entire ride. I whined for a moment (intentionally loudly enough so that the nearest employees could hear my frustration) then we went on our merry way.

Shopping was going well; then the words I dread, "Pee, Pee!" came from one boy, then the other. Sighing, I led them all the way to the front of the store and parked the cart outside the bathroom door. I reminded the twins that we need to go straight into the bathroom, let me loose, and picked up Luke to carry him inside. They followed.
"Who needs to go pee?"
"Meee!" both boys exclaimed. We squished into stall, and I pulled down Evan's pants, and lifted him onto the potty, while Luke dangled precariously from my right arm.
"Ga ga!" All done, in Evan language. Problem is, he didn't go. I pulled him off the toilet in time for Joel to announce that he, too, was "ga ga." Apparently this was all just a ploy to get to flush the toilet. Darn geniuses.
We headed out of the bathroom, and I set Luke back in his seat. In that brief two seconds, the twins took off. Like bolts of lightning streaking across the sky, the two-year-old speed demons raced away.
Of course my shopping cart would be facing the opposite direction. As they raced past electronics and headed toward the stationary department, I struggled to turn my ocean liner of a cart without knocking Luke over. Five minutes later (at least it felt that way), I was up the aisles, racing after them as fast as I could move that stupid cart. (Racing is used very loosely here. Old ladies with walkers could have easily outpaced us.)

I caught up with them, sort of, near housewares. (Caught up is used loosely here. Briefly appeared in my view is more appropriate.) The orange boat, Luke, and I slowly followed the endless laughter and occasional glimpses of demon spawn that would cross our paths every now and then. They took us along the length of the back of the store. I prayed that one of them would fall down and get "kind of" hurt. Not any hurt that would cause permanent physical damage, just the kind that would traumatize them enough to never leave my side again. (As a side note, I was one of the runners as a kid, too. That is, until I got hit by a car. I was lucky to have lived; but my mom said, from then on, I stayed by her side wherever we went. I certainly don't want my boys hit by a car, but I think a bit of the mental trauma might do my boys some good.)

As we passed frozen goods and headed for produce, I was able to somehow close the gap between us. They knew I was closing in, and apparently had already hatched a plan of action.
They split up.
Evan took off into the twisted aisles of produce (why MUST they put those aisles on an angle?) Joel swiftly took off to the back of the store. I stood in the middle, completely dumbfounded, shocked that my two-year-olds just completely tagged team against me.

I stared at Luke helplessly for a moment. I briefly contemplated just leaving the store with him, starting fresh with the youngest of my brood. Only children enjoy getting all the attention, right?
Coming to my senses, I decided it'd be smarter to chase the child nearest the doors leading outside, so I went after Evan. Joel was probably somewhere in housewares. Ceramic dishes, shiny breakable mirrors... good luck to you.
A kindly 70-something woman took pity on me and abandoned her wheelchair-bound husband to help the cause. (Okay, so maybe he wasn't in a wheelchair. I know she did leave him to help with the chase, though.)
We eventually corralled Evan and I was able to grab him by the collar and toss him into the cart.
All the meanwhile, Luke had decided he'd had enough of this "sitting" thing and was using every moment I turned away to stand in his seat. At this point, I've got my wise helper (I wouldn't dare call her "old") running toward the back of the store, I'm again trying to turn the boat around so I can move up the aisle, all while holding onto Luke with one hand to keep him from learning the consequences of standing in his seat.

As the woman ran across the back of the store, I desperately tried to shove my way across a side aisle. An employee shouted at me that my son had been caught and I could find him in the Fitting Room area. I yelled thank you and made my way to the center of the store. There was Joel, surrounded by three employees, who clearly had to put up a fight to keep him there. I heard "The mom is here" across the radio, and they quickly passed him over to me.

Livid, I grabbed Joel and put him into the back of the shopping cart, telling him how mad I was and this was not a fun game. His response was to throw a flower pot out of the cart. It shattered on the floor. I picked him up and put him back in the buggy, cursing the broken seatbelt.

A woman came up and asked if I'd like help. I turned to look at her and said, "No, thank you. We're good now..."
Only to see Joel hop off the seat and take off down the center aisle.
In a panic, I ran after him, yelling at her "Watch my kids, please!"

How did these kids get to be so fast?
How is it that Joel could be in my sight one second, and have completely vanished the next?

As I ran through jewelry and makeup, I asked employees and bystanders if anyone had seen a two-year-old whiz by. No one had, but the sixteen-year-old makeup expert suggested I go to the service desk and have him paged.
I had to stop myself from smacking her on the head. "He's two," I calmly stated. "He wouldn't know how to respond to an overhead page."

Now is when I actually started to panic. I had NO IDEA where this kid was, and my other two were left in the care of a total stranger (even across the store, I could hear Luke's screaming fit over someone other than Mommy holding him.)

Standing in the middle of the front of the store, a cashier saw me and told me that he headed to electronics.
I turned and ran that direction. Ahead of me, I could see a group of four employees, crouched down low, looking as if they were attempting to corner some rabid animal into a cage.
I approached the circle, just in time to see Joel make his quick escape. Luckily, he unknowingly headed right toward me, and the chase finally came to an end.

We made our way back to the center of the store to the kindly babysitter. She had a glassy look in her eyes, and kept repeating the mantra, "They're fine. They're okay." over and over. One therapy session and she should recover.
(The good news is, I never, ever worry that someone is going to want to kidnap my children.)

I quickly thanked her and headed toward the exit. I had to transfer the boys into another cart, as I couldn't very well leave the store with all the items in the cart (and there was NO WAY I was going to bother trying to checkout at this point.)

As I transferred carts, Joel threw a fit because he wanted to sit in the orange buggy.
Of course you do, kid. Of course you do.

Luke's Gift Wish List (For those who need it)

2010-05-06T10:12:00.000-05:00

Here are some ideas for those who are asking!

CLOTHES
Currently wearing 12m in tops and bottoms.

TOYS
Cause and Effect toys such as ball spinners, jack-in-the-box
Musical toys: little piano, rain stick/shaker
Walking/Riding/Pulling toys, Wagon

Hopefully that gives some ideas!

April... belated

2010-05-03T14:48:00.000-05:00

I know I'm a rotten blogger lately, but we've got so much going on that I just haven't been able to keep up with everything on my plate.

Here's my best summary of April....

Week 1a: Daddy's Spring Break!
Todd decided to take a few days off during his school's spring break (no, administrators don't get the days off automatically,) so we enjoyed some family time together. We brought the boys to visit a children's museum, which they loved.

Sitting in car, getting ready for a drive (notice the keys in Evan's hands?)

Watching a tornado (the blurry part of the photo is the tornado); Joel and Luke experimenting with air tubes.

The really cool train table, which both boys loved. Evan could have stayed all day, I think!

Luke couldn't see what the twins were doing on top of the table, so decided he'd find his own source of amusement under it.

Week 1b: Easter!

Great visit with family (my side, we don't get to see Todd's side very often due to distance.) I tried so hard to get great photos of the kids, but they weren't having it. Here are a few, though. I feel like I need to do an actual shoot, because they were GORGEOUS.

(Joel in the khaki hat, Evan in the blue)

Best buds!

(Notice he's even wearing a tie under his vest? AWWW!)

The boys loved hunting for Easter eggs, and they really enjoyed finding their backpacks filled with surprises (the current obsession with Dora makes them interested in wearing backpacks everywhere, so we used those in lieu of baskets this year.)

Their FAVORITE Easter surprise, however, was from their GREAT-grandmother (emphasis on great because she really is fantastic) Juanita, who gave them their very own bikes!

Check out these rockstars!

Chillin' on the roadsters.

Luke is pretty sure he should be able to ride, too.

Week 2: We started our big home renovations. Okay, small in comparison to what a lot of people do, but big to us because, if nothing else, renovating with small children is not fun. We spent the week arguing about kitchen countertop choices, and ultimately decided on this granite:

Personally, I'm not into granite, but hopefully someone else will love it and decide that they just must buy our house (know anyone in the market for a house?) We're planning to get it on the market in June, so April was just consumed with checklists of to-dos. Did I ever mention Todd hates checklists? He also hates to-do lists. Did I mention I LOVE checklists? Let's just say it was a rough month.

Week 3: Joel and Evan are still very hard to understand, so I am in the process of getting them speech evaluations. We also had a visit from a plumber to fix the bathroom that has been out of commission for the past two years (try potty-training with the only bathroom being on the least used level of the house. Not fun.) Todd went to visit the family farm with his dad, so the kids and I paid a visit to my parents. No pictures, but they had a great time as usual.

Week 4: We started the week by removing the counters and sink for the kitchen measure. So began our three week stint without countertops or any water in the kitchen. The upstairs bathroom now has a working toilet, but the water is still off for the sink and tub, so it's still pretty much off limits. (In fact, here's its current state):

Lovely, right?

Sink? Who needs a sink? Counters? Bah, the top the of dishwasher works just fine, thank you very much.

And here's our latest predicament. If you've got an opinion, feel free to share!

See the upper half cabinet, and the lower cabinet (with the white door) that doesn't line up with the upper one? We've got a lot of space to fill before our counters arrive, and have yet to find a reasonably priced, quickly produced option.

It's a bit of a madhouse here!

So that was April... now onto May, which means LUKE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!

2010-05-03T13:08:00.001-05:00

My Name is Sarah and I'm the Mother of a Child with Food Allergies

2010-04-02T23:42:00.000-06:00

The more I learn about potentially fatal allergy, the more paranoid I become, and (in my opinion,) with good reason. When Joel first reacted to a small smidge of peanut butter (at age 14 months,) the reaction terrified me. Have you ever seen chemosis firsthand? I was going to include a picture, but decided if I want to continue to have site visitors, I should probably not include grotesque images. So google it yourself if you like that kind of thing. We took Joel to the ER, and over the next couple of hours, he continued to react, from a body covered in hives to labored breathing.

Obviously we immediately removed all peanut products from our house, but I waited another year before taking him for official testing. Even after seeing that initial reaction, I was floored when we received the results of the RAST (blood) test. His test revealed that he is in the highest possible allergic category (100+, level 6.) To put this in perspective, a score above 15 is expected to result in anaphalatic reaction to peanut protein. So 15 is probably fatal; he is off the charts. Receiving that news was truly like being punched in the stomach over and over again. After sharing the disappointing news, the allergist went on to explain Joel's other allergies, which we hadn't even been aware of. (He is also allergic to eggs, sesame, and soy. He's ingested those a number of times and I've never seen a reaction, so at this point in time the allergies are mild; that could change-- for better or for worse-- at any time.)

In these past few months, I've become more vigilent in learning what I can about this allergy and how best to protect Joel. We will be participating in a research study in early summer, at which time both of his brothers will also be tested for a variety of allergies. (Neither of the other two have had any exposure to peanuts since Joel's reaction, so we really have no clue what the results will show. Most kids are initially tested using a skin "scratch" test, but that is too risky for my crew, so they will all be doing blood tests instead.)

I don't think the "regular" population has a good grasp on the severity of these life-threatening allergies. I know that I certainly didn't. It is really easy to assume a person is being overly cautious, and even just plain paraniod, but consider this:
Almost 31% of food products from Western Europe that don't have "nut warning" labels were found to have detectible levels of peanut protein;
62% of food products from Eastern Europe contained peanut protein, even without any warning on the label;
In a study, 12% of patients had some form of reaction when coming in close contact with a person who had ingested an allergy-inducing food.
(Source: http://www.whyriskit.ca/pages/en/learn/research.php#question_4)
(Hurray to the United States for actually requiring warning labels on all packaged foods. It isn't a fool-proof system, but it certainly helps.)

Other jaw-dropping news:
Household items that may contain top 8 allergens: Play-doh; paint; adhesives; medications; soaps; shampoos; lotions; makeup; stuffed toys (for instance, some bean bags are stuffed with ground up peanut shells); pet food; birdseed.
The highest risk settings for ingesting allergens by mistake: Buffets; Bakeries; Restaurants with premade meals; (for peanut) Asian restaurants
(Source: http://drrobertwood.com/index.shtml)

What does this all mean? This means that, as a parent, it is my responsibility to become more aware than ever of the constant possible dangers that surround my child. It means that, as holidays (such as Easter) come upon us, I'm not particularly keen on giving my kids chocolate bars (start checking the labels; you will be shocked at how many have peanut warnings listed); it means we will no longer be allowing any chocolates in our home that come from Europe (so long, Kinder... I will always love you.) And it means that, yes, I am going to be one of those really annoying moms that gets upset if I visit your house and you bring out item with peanuts on or in it. I realize you figure Joel won't eat it, but what happens if someone drops a bit of the food and he ingests it, or if someone decides to shake his hand after holding that food? I've taken risks so far, and thankfully, he's been okay. I let him eat foods prepared by others, even let him eat at restaurants; a recent near miss has quickly changed my mind on this one, though.

In short, yes, I am going to become one of those aggravating, overprotective, shield-her-child-from-the-world-and-keep-him-in-a-bubble mothers. Maybe, in due time, I will let my guard down. Maybe I'll be able to send my child out the door without instant worry of whether or not his life is at risk. Today's just not that day, and I'm guessing it's not tomorrow, either.

Curious about peanut allergies? Think I'm going overboard? Here's more info regarding peanut allergies, including how cross-contamination occurs:
http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/nut_allergy.html
http://www.calgaryallergy.ca/Articles/English/peanutfree.html

BABIES

2010-03-31T06:01:00.000-06:00

Has anyone heard of this movie? I've been waiting for the past year to see it. I've been a Bzzagent for a few years now, and usually don't share my campaigns on my blog. But I'm just so excited to see this film that I was excited to sign up and share this upcoming movie with everyone.
Make plans to see it. It opens Mother's Day weekend (I think my husband should take note...)

And in case you are wondering about what I am talking about when I say that I'm a BzzAgent, here's a link. Some of you may be interested in joining, so check it out!
http://www.bzzagent.com/campaign/PublicCampaignsOverview.do

A Decent Photo... Or Not

2010-03-28T18:10:00.000-06:00

I've mentioned on multiple occasions how hard it is to get a photo of Joel actually smiling at the camera. You know, a real smile, eyes looking at me, not making some goofy face with his eyes rolling and tongue sticking out. So imagine how pleased I was to be able to get this photo of him today:

Cute, right?

Believe it or not, that wasn't really the picture I was so keen to take. Here's the actual non-cropped photo. I just couldn't resist...

Yep, THAT'S why the kid is smiling. He loves his sparkly dress up skirt!

Future blackmail material? I think so.
(I can hear it now... "You WILL do these chores, or so help me I will show this picture to EVERY ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS!) Hehehe.

Tuesday Museday

2010-03-23T14:07:00.000-06:00

Recent musings:

When returning from the basement with a load of laundry, it is far better to learn that your children can now reach the steakknives by the gouges in your television, and not gouges in one another.

When children are capable of reaching the steak knives, it is important to permanently keep the knife block facing backwards in order to keep children alive and other furnishings from being destroyed.

("Hurray, we're still alive!")

Bottle brushes will not survive the garbage disposal.

Taking a photograph of the inside of the kitchen sink will most likely result in a sudden urge to really scrub inside said sink.

Is it better to have folded laundry and lost, or better to have not folded laundry at all?

Will ingesting peat moss cause serious harm? (Short answer: No.)

Is there a reason a baby prefers peat moss to celery? (Short answer: No.)

(Bet you can guess this question.)

Happy Tuesday!

A Quick View of St. Paddy's Day

2010-03-20T08:51:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day pictures were a wash this year, since we were all sick. Luckily, St. Patrick's Day is another simple holiday for attempting a photo shoot. Here's a current look at Luke (10 months), and Evan and Joel (who are now officially 2 1/2 years old!)

I love taking pictures of babies, because they actually are interested in looking at and smiling for the camera. (Granted, it took about a hundred shots in order to get these two decent pictures.)

Then I attempted to take photos of the twins. Two-year-old boys are MUCH harder to photograph than babies.

It wasn't too hard to get a somewhat decent shot of Evan. Ignore the messy hair; I've resigned myself to the fact that I am a mother of boys for a reason, and that reason is that I am terrible at keeping kids' heads looking neat and fashionable. Anywhere, here's cutie pie Evan:

Then, I had to attempt to get a decent shot of Joel. Joel acquired the stubborness of his mother. When he doesn't want to do something, such as, say, smile for the camera, he lets me know it. So he's not actually looking at me here, but I'm willing to use this as my best shot of him:

(Here are two of the alternatives. You see why I chose the one above.)

Finally, a picture of dinner. Todd had to work late, so he and I planned to have Reubens for dinner later (we both LOVE corned beef and sauerkraut, so this is a holiday meal we look forward to.) However, the kids still had to eat, so I decided to try out my snazzy new GT Xpress 101 (which I saw on an informercial a long time ago, decided not to buy based on a high price and horrible reviews, then saw in Target a few days ago at a super low clearance price.)

Ooh, ahh

Pancake mix + corned beef + cheese =

A nice little sandwich-type wrap for the boys! I love it!!

And of course, no St. Patrick's Day is complete without green mashed potatoes. (Which the kids absolutely refused to touch.)

Real Men Eat Worcestershire

2010-03-14T10:10:00.000-06:00

Because soy sauce would just be gross!

(I never caught the boys in the act, but came into the room to find this on the recliner.)

The Bane of My Existence

2010-03-14T10:05:00.000-06:00

(Not the child, just the object.)

Oh, the power they have over our household! Yes, we are STILL fighting the pacifier addiction. Yes, that is Joel with a paci in his mouth. No, I did not give it to him; he stole it from his baby brother.

Yesterday I caught him in Luke's room, standing atop an overturned rubbermaid container, midway through climbing onto the dresser in order to reach the pacifiers in the container on the shelf above.

I guess in order to break the addiction, we are going to have to rid the house completely, including taking all of Luke's.

Curse the pacifier!

Top Mommy Blogger

2010-03-10T00:03:00.001-06:00

How about we strike a deal? I'll get cracking on posting more frequently, and you vote for my blog to rise to the top in the Mommy Blogosphere. Deal? Please click the happy lady on the right, and vote to make my blog popular!

And don't forget to subscribe to this blog, too! I'm not sure what that does, but it sure helps me feel like I'm not just talking to myself all the time.

Burnt Toast and Torn Clothes: A Story for the Kids

2010-03-04T10:25:00.000-06:00

One day, Mommy decided to work on thewhile

was taking a nap, and were watching tv.

Suddenly, Mommy's recognized the distinct smell of burning. Charging up the stairs, she got stuck on . Pulling away, she ran into the smoky kitchen to find

Apparently the twins had decided to make themselves a snack! After unplugging the toaster, Mommy looked down at her shirt, only to find a giant .

From now on, Mommy will only work on the when the kids are all asleep.

The end.

February...

2010-03-04T08:31:00.000-06:00

It snowed a lot.
We celebrated Todd's birthday.
We all got sick with bad colds that lasted the entire month.
I hate winter.
That's it.

It's Not Child Labor if They Enjoy It

2010-01-24T22:05:00.006-06:00

Even though I hate winter (OH how I HATE winter), the boys have given me a lot to celebrate this month.

Joel and Evan have finally discovered how to use the ShopVac that I use regularly in the kitchen and playroom. I am overjoyed at how clean my kitchen floors have become since this discovery! We no longer walk around with dried food stuck to the bottom of our socks; they do a great job of cleaning the floor multiple times per day. Immediately following meals, Joel gets up from his chair and begins vacuuming any crumbs. After he finishes, I lift Luke, shake off his mess, and Evan follows up with whatever mess is left behind. These are glorious times, folks! For two years our floor has been endlessly covered in bits of food, and now I can walk across the room without so much as a cheerio to step on!

A photo of all the "fun stuff" that needs to be cleaned up. Evan did a great job cleaning under the table!

Joel works hard to get any crumbs or bits of dust that gather in under the cabinets. God bless both these children for finally making my day that much easier!

(We remains pants-free most days, as it makes using the potty much easier on little boys who have yet to master pulling pants down. In case you were wondering.)

Joel continues to love caring for his baby brother. A few nights ago, I was feeding Luke yogurt. Joel asked for a piece of celery. When I gave it to him, he grabbed the yogurt and starting feeding it to Luke, using the celery as a spoon.

(After Joel realized how messy the "celery spoon" was, he decided to use the real thing instead.)

My three sons. Don't ask about Evan's hair... I have no idea.

Without regular mental stimulation, the twins, now 28 months, tend to get bored and cause trouble. I've been trying to come up with a variety of activities that require little effort on my part, but a lot on theirs! One activity they really enjoy is putting (uncooked) spaghetti into an empty spice container. They have to really focus in order to get each noodle into all the little holes.

(Evan in orange, Joel in green.)

(Do you see the green L in Evan's workspace? It's a magnet that he carries around and pretends is his gun. When the L is unavailable, he'll settle for the 7 magnet instead.)

Luke is now 8 months old and a complete handful! He puts everything in his mouth (I mean EVERYTHING.) Luckily, the twins are good at recognizing when he has something he shouldn't (which is about 90% of the time), and they quickly take it away. I'd love to be Supermommy and childproof well enough that we don't have to worry, but with toddlers running around, things are never where they should be. I glanced down at Luke the other day to see him gnawing away at Lemon Biscotti... I have no idea how he got it (but he sure enjoyed it!) I'm glad I used the baby-led weaning approach with feedings, because it means he is well aware of how to properly "chew" and swallow foods (or at least he's well skilled at not panicking when he incorrectly swallows.)

He is learning skills at a rapid pace. Wanting desperately to keep up with his brothers, Luke chases the boys using his lightning-fast crawling ability. He loves standing against furniture, and this weekend let go and stood on his own for a few seconds. He has a push toy that he has begun using to practice walking on his own; it's only a matter of time before he's going to be running after his older brothers.

I can't believe my baby is growing so quickly!

And finally, I have to share that my WONDERFUL husband gave me an incredible 30th birthday! To celebrate, he arranged for my parents to babysit for the day, and we went downtown to celebrate. We had a delicious habachi lunch, followed by a tasty tour of chocolate shops in Chicago. We had the most amazing chocolate truffles at this place; I highly recommend trying their chocolate if you ever have chance. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

THANK YOU TODD, for a fabulous birthday!! I LOVE YOU!!

The End of a Great Year!

2009-12-30T13:57:00.005-06:00

We had a great December, packed with lots of holiday activities. In fact, it's been such a busy month that this is the first time I've actually had a chance to see what pictures we took (and what pictures we forgot to take.)
At the beginning of the month, Todd and I joined his family in celebrating his Grandmother's 91st birthday. We stayed at a bed and breakfast near the family farm and had a great visit overall. It was our first weekend being away from the kids; Luke stayed with Nonnie and Poppy, and Evan and Joel went to Grammy and Grampy. We had a great time with the family, (and an even better time enjoying our first full night of sleep in over two years!), and the kids did pretty well without us. Good to know I can start planning that trip to Europe and feel confident the kids will do well staying home with the grandparents. (KIDDING!)

We had a holiday party with our college friends. Everyone has a slew of kids now, and it's fun to get together and see the transformation we've all taken. No more video games and endless sport conversation from the guys; I think I actually overheard them talking grocery prices! It was a lot of fun, though. The twins are very shy with other kids, so didn't really want to interact, but enjoyed doing their own thing most of the night. (Joel pushed a grocery cart, and Evan played with a balloon. Very typical behaviors from each of them.) Luke was his smiling self as usual. He's an easy kid most of the time, thank goodness.

The boys decorated cookies at a holiday party. They had fun!

This year I decided I really wanted our holiday season to be heavily focused on family, so we made an advent "event" calendar. The calendar only lasted two days before the twins managed to destroy it, but we still were able to enjoy a lot of family activities. We baked cookies, which they loved; did a night drive looking at holiday lights, which they loved; went on a train ride, which they loved... there was an activity every night for two weeks straight, and they loved them all. One of my favorite parts was making salt dough ornaments and using them to decorate the Christmas tree. I particularly enjoyed this because when it came to taking the tree down, I was able to toss all the ornaments in the trash! I think I've come up with a great new "tradition" in our home. (Todd hates all my "Christmas tradition" planning, but I think even he appreciates this one, since it was easiest Christmas cleanup ever!)

We also decided to start a new-- ahem, tradition-- in our home regarding gift giving. We really want to make sure we teach the kids that Christmas is for celebrating Jesus' birth, and not just "gimme the gifts." So we've employed a great idea that I had learned about last year; we give each of the kids a total of three gifts to represent JOY: J- a gift about Jesus (the twins' received Bible music, Luke got a VeggieTales DVD); O- a gift to share with Others (all three kids received books for us to read together); and Y- a gift especially for Yourself (the twins' received CD players since they both love to sing, and Luke got a teething toy, which he immediately tossed aside and never gave a second glance. Oh well.) We also decided to buy one family gift, so ended up getting a Wii system (which I have mixed feelings about. I agreed to it only because I figure we can play the games as a family.) Between our gifts, gifts from relatives, and Shamu gifts (a fishing game that has been a tradition in my family since my mom was little), the kids made out like bandits and our house is now overrun with a host of new exciting noisy things that make random noise, even when on the shelf (those of you with these toys know EXACTLY what I am talking about. Nothing like waking up at 2am to the sounds of a toy train choo-chooing without being touched-- creepy!)

So Christmas was a blast, we enjoyed lots of visiting with family, and now 2010 is already around the corner.
I'm making a long list of resolutions this new year, including spending more time working on the blog. My very awesome brother built me a laptop, which makes it a lot easier to work on it throughout the day. Feel free to encourage my resolution my leaving comments every now and then; I miss hearing what you have to say (and I'm curious to see who is reading! Sometimes it gets lonely out here in cyber-world!)

Joel had a lot of fun over our 3 days of Christmas.

Happy New Year, everyone!

For those who wonder why we don't have family photos to share, here's an example. Christmas Eve, (I'm still unshowered, so ignore the hair and lovely face):

"Hey, let's do a family picture!" "Well, THAT didn't work!"

"Okay, everyone look at the camera! LOOK at the CAMERA! SAY CHEESE!"

"Come on, guys! Just ONE picture!"

Ah, forget it. Merry Christmas, all.

And some more random December photos, as my gift to you!

This is Saucy, one of our new pets. He and Wall-E (the other) are both eastern painted turtles. They seem very happy (by reptile standards.) They are surprisingly friendly and enjoy poking their heads up to see us when we look over the tank.

Bathtime at the White house! All three boys now squish into the tub together, but they love it!

His middle name ain't Matisse for nothin'. Here's Evan busily painting with yogurt.

(Evan was shocked when he looked up and saw me standing on the chair. He knows the rules!)

The artist at work.

I think this one is hilarious:

"Mom, do NOT interrupt when I'm watching T.V. with my brothers!"

Christmas movie+ new pjs+ snacks in front of the tv= 3 content little boys!

One of my favorite pictures! (The only child that actually took good photos this Christmas.)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T01:32:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving with Family

2009-12-04T09:41:00.012-06:00

Here are the photos of our Thanksgiving trip to Missouri. It was BUSY, but we had a blast!

Family picture at the White house: Grandpa Adrian, Grandma Linda, Daddy with Evan and Joel, Mamaw, Foxy, Aunt Suzanne, and Luke. Anyone else find it amusing that it seems easier to get a dog to look at the camera than the two-year-olds?

Grandma Linda bought these really cool trucks for the twins, and they enjoyed playing with them out on the back patio (check out their gorgeous view of the lake!)

Iid Family Thanksgiving photo. My brain is too tired to list everyone's names. It's a huge, loud, fun group. I give loud and fun equal emphasis.

Family photo at my aunt's house. She's got an anti-social llama, a couple of horses, dogs (including one with only three legs), and many rabbits. The twins' favorite part? The swingset.

Mamaw and Sweet Luke.

Grandma Linda with Luke

Grandpa Adrian with Luke

The boys LOVED throwing rocks into the lake at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

(Joel on left, Evan on right)

Sometimes they chose really big rocks.

Mommy and Luke enjoying the beautiful MO weather that weekend!

Daddy and Luke enjoying the view

Is there any question as to who Luke looks like?

Seriously, this kid is CUTE!

Evan enjoying playtime with his little brother.

Our Thanksgiving weekend agenda (so you can have an idea of what I mean when I say it was "busy"):

Tuesday evening- 5 hour drive to St. Louis area to visit Nana (the boys' great-grandma). Evan got carsick about 30 minutes after leaving home.

Wednesday- Spent day with Nana. Left late afternoon, another 5 hour drive to Missouri. Evan and Joel got carsick shortly before we arrived. Todd and I got lost thanks to my over-reliance on GPS. I saw a hyena. Okay, not really, but it sure looked like one (it was a buck.)

Thursday- Spent the day with our huge family at the Mercantile (part of my aunt's doll business. She is amazing... see here: http://www.expressionsdolls.com/diannaeffner.html )

Friday- Went to visit our cousins' farms. The twins got to see lots of animals, throw rocks in the huge pond, and ride a 4-wheeler with Daddy (Mommy was too wimpy to ride.) After a major tantrum fest at the farm, we got in the car to leave. Joel threw up before we even left the driveway. Another short drive to visit Daddy's side of the family. Evan and Joel got sick just before we arrived at the condo.

Saturday- Visit with Grandparents, Mamaw (boys' great-grandma), and Aunt Suzanne. The visit was fun but way too short.

Sunday- Nine hour drive home. NO CARSICKNESS!

And just like that, we are onto the holiday madness that is December. Happy Holidays, everyone!

GIFT WISH LIST FOR THE BOYS (for those who have asked):

Twins:

Toys-Love all things transportation... planes, trains, automobiles. Anything related to this would make them happy. They also enjoy music a lot, so anything relating to listening to/playing music they'd love.

Clothing- Always in need of pajamas! Size 2t shirts, 24 month or 2t bottoms. Adjustable waistbands really help because they have skinny tummies and pants fall down.

Characters- They love Backyardigans, Dora and Diego, and Pixar films.

Luke:

Toys- Sensory books, teething toys, sensory balls/toys. He is very active so anything that keeps his mind stimulated would make him happy.

Clothing- size 12 month tops and bottoms for winter/early spring clothing.

Our Busy October!

2009-10-31T21:45:00.012-06:00

There are so many pictures of the different things we did this month that I hardly feel the need to write anything extra. The boys make me laugh a lot, cry a little, and dream of the days when I will be able to sleep as long as I want. I'm exhausted from the moment I wake until I go to sleep each and every day. Nevertheless, I continue to love hanging out with my little guys who always keep me guessing what will happen next!

After a bout of illness through each member of the family, we decided the best cure for a cold was fresh air. We packed the kids in the car and headed to a local pumpkin farm to enjoy some time outdoors. It was a beautiful day, and everyone felt much better afterward, so the goal was accomplished!

Evan says big boys don't smile for pictures.

Luke was a bit sick, but he stayed warm being carried in Mommy's coat!

I swear that isn't a cigarette in Joel's mouth; he was given a lollipop to enjoy!

Joel says watermelons are cool!

Mommy and Daddy said, "Don't run into the corn maze." In toddler terms, that means, "Run as fast as you can NOW!"

Last month, Todd won bowling passes, so we thought we'd bring the kids out and enjoy an afternoon at the bowling alley. Joel and Evan enjoyed themselves and were on fairly good behavior until the end. Luke was a little angel and sat quietly in his carrier the entire time. It was a fun family event!

The twins used a ramp to bowl. They loved pushing it all by themselves, which Daddy let them do. They also loved trying to lift the ball all by themselves, which Daddy did not let them do.

Yay, Daddy!

Bowling shoes are for the cool kids. I've half a mind to sneak out the door with these snazzy shoes. (Just kidding. Although my mom told me that when she was a teen she stole a pair of shoes from the bowling alley because she liked the look.)

Who can guess how we knew when the kids were ready to leave?

Luke has started solids this month! I tried holding off as long as I could, knowing full well that once you start, there's no turning back. However, he has been eyeing and grabbing for food whenever he sees anyone eating, so I figured it was time. We're using a method called "Baby Led Weaning," which basically means that rather than causing a bunch of work for myself making pureed food, I just give Luke a part of whatever the family is having that day. His first meal was canned pumpkin, which he fed himself with a spoon. He has since eaten steamed broccoli, canteloupe, avocado, banana, and potatoes. He loves being able to pick up the food on his own, and I love watching him take actual bites of food instead of having to feed him myself. For those with kids this age, I highly recommend looking into using BLW in your own family.

Here are a few shots of the first meal: Canned Pumpkin!

Think he enjoyed it?

Trying desperately to pick up banana:

Success!

Some of you heard about The Great Flour Caper that took place in my house recently. Here's photographic evidence of why leaving two-year-olds alone with flour for under two minutes is NOT a good idea. (Four cups, to be exact.)

(These are just close-ups of a small part of it. It was on the walls, the counters, the curtains; everywhere you could possibly imagine and many places you'd never expect. We are still coming across coatings of flour on areas that we missed!)

And just to prove that Mommy is sometimes incapable of learning a lesson the first time, here we have the sequel: The Great Dirt Disaster. You can guess how much fun it was to clean the carpet and every surface in the living room.

Has Mommy learned her lesson yet? I'll let you know in a year or so.

One of the best parts of fall is the occasional great weather for spending time outdoors. Here are some pictures of my boys enjoying time together.

Daddy had a lot of fun teaching the twins about the fun of playing in the leaves!

As if the month wasn't already busy enough, we decided to bring the boys to a pumpkin patch last weekend. (Yes, this is our second visit, but this was a BIG pumpkin patch.) There were a lot of fun things to do!

Evan's driving the bus and debating whether or not to open the door for Joel.

Look who we found! Our favorite characters, The Backyardigans!

This is a giant hill of hay that was just calling to the twins to climb!

There was a big fight as to who got to drive the pretend... train? bus? Regardless, Evan was the winner.

Luckily, the boys soon found tractors that allowed each of them to drive alone. Unfortunately, they were too short to actually reach the pedals, but that didn't stop them from throwing tantrums when it was time to go!

Perhaps a future farmer? I hear Baylis, IL has land available!

The men in my life. Aren't they gorgeous?

And finally, what would October be without Halloween? After careful deliberation, I decided this year's theme would be "Black and White". The end result? A penguin, a skunk, and a panda bear all enjoyed a chilly day learning that, "costumes plus saying trick-or-treat equals CANDY!!!" While the twins fought me all week long and refused to try on their costumes, after about two houses they suddenly had an epiphany that this could just about be the greatest day of the year. I highly doubt I'll have to put up the same fight to dress them next year!

Aunt Jessi spent the day with us. Here she is with Evan the Skunk, Luke the Panda, and Joel the Penguin. The boys love playing with their auntie!

Even though temps were in the 40's, Luke was wearing four layers of clothing, so he seemed pretty comfortable hanging out in the stroller.

Running to the neighbor's house to get the loot.

"Mom, look what they gave us!"

And finally, a picture of Mommy and her little Panda:

This post may have come at the last minute possible (okay, technically it's no longer October at this point), but as you can see, there hasn't been a whole lot of time to sit and write. Happy Fall; there'll be Thanksgiving pictures to share soon enough!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

2009-09-27T19:39:00.010-05:00

Summer was busy in the White house! The boys turned two at the start of September, and boy, they are living up to the whole "terrible twos" reputation. It's not a matter of whether or not there will be a meltdown in our house, but rather just how many meltdowns will take place each day. Still, the boys (all of them) keep me laughing every day. Here are some recent pictures.

The Three Amigos (Joel, Luke, Evan)

Your eyes do not decieve you. Those are pacifiers in the twins' mouths. Again. We had rid them of the habit, but as Luke increased his use of it, suddenly the twins' interest was again renewed. They are now more attached than ever. Originally, I was able to take them away just by snipping the tips; the boys' got annoyed with the "broken" pacis and threw them away themselves (clever, right?) But now, I've tried snipping a few again, and they have decided that throwing them away was the wrong move last time. We are now having to deal with new ways of ridding them of the darn things.

Can you say PRECIOUS?!!

We went to our local fall festival this weekend. It was so much fun; the twins had their first pony rides (Joel was scared at first, but then relaxed and enjoyed himself. Evan loved it a little too much, and had a major tantrum once he realized the ride was over and the pony wasn't coming home with us.)

Here are the boys riding in their stroller. It was a bit chilly out, but the wind cover provided nice protection, especially for Luke. I tried to get them to look at the camera, but cool things were happening that were much more interesting than Mommy.

I love this picture of Evan! He was just relaxing by himself on a rock wall when I took it.

Daddy and the twins visited the fire truck. Notice Joel's excitement? He's jumping up and down!

The boys learned the hard way that if you try and steal the fire truck, you will be arrested. (Kidding.)

Evan says hi.

Luke says hi, too.

The twins enjoyed storytime with Daddy,

and then were given their very own pumpkins.

Time for pumpkin bowling!

It was a great time!

On another note, I recently had surgery on my gallbladder (technically, two surgeries, since it seems I always like to do things the hard way,) and my mom and stepmom spent a lot of time up here helping out around the house. (By helping out, I mean doing virtually everything, since I was confined to the recliner for two weeks.) They were incredible and a total blessing to us.

Here's Grammy (my mom) and the boys.

As tiring as it was for them, it was a great bonding experience for everyone. Nevertheless, I'm hoping to avoid any more surgeries for a long while!

In case you are wondering, the adorable pumpkin hats were made by a great work-at-home mom (she and I went to middle and high school together.) The boys LOVE them, and I highly recommend her products! You can find the pumpkin and other hats at her etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6235246 Danyel, you are awesome. Thanks again!

August According to Todd

2009-08-23T16:11:00.006-05:00

The month of August was a quiet one. Most of the month was filled with Sarah fullfilling her daycare duties with Conlan and very little else. The twins are growing up fast, but their limited language skills are preventing them from resolving issues with words. This has lead to regular biting incidents. Yes, the normally super sweet twins have resigned to biting each other when they get really mad. Even worse, they often get mad at Conlan and bite him as well. We are working through it with time outs and doing what we can, yet all of the boys are friends and are giggling and laughing shortly after it happens. We did find the time to take a trip to Alton to visit Todd's family and did a weekend trip to visit Sarah's family before her brothers left for college (Alex and Scott.) Both trips were a great success with the trio of boys riding well and no tears or screaming! Yay!

We took the boys to a new park that just opened up. Evan has just finished his slide while Joel is preparing to launch.

Joel is working on getting a better view of the action.

Joel thinks that climbing through the tunnels is fun even though mommy needs to reach and help him along.

A clever Ice Cream Truck rolled around just in time for our playing to be over. Sticky fun followed.

The boys found a bay window at Nonnie and Poppi's house to be very fun. They were able to see Daddy helping their Uncle Alex load up for college.

The trip to Alton was very fun for the White boy trio. Lukas was held almost every minute of the weekend; Great-Grandma Juanita is seen here doing her part.

Pround Grandpa Adrian followed his mother's lead and took his turn at holding Luke.

While we were in Alton we stayed at a hotel, which worked out perfectly for napping. Just after naptime Joel or Evan ( this is really bad that I can't tell which child this is. I think it is actually Joel, but with the sunglasses I just can't be sure. What I do know is that when he is ready to head out, cell phone, keys, and sunglasses are an important part of looking like an adult!)

(Sarah's edit: This is Joel!)

Grandma Linda made up for lost time quickly and established a great bond with little Luke.

Meanwhile, Joel and Evan had a great time just sitting in the chair. I believe we asked them where their ears are. Joel got it right, while Evan thinks his flew across the room and is showing us where they landed.

One big picture of the White Family.

Our friend Drew did a photo shoot of the trio and sent us a couple of proofs. This is baby Luke showing off that great smile of his.

Joel and Evan look very suave in their outfits from the Gap!

Birthday Wish List

2009-08-17T13:26:00.002-05:00

For those who are asking, here are some ideas of what the boys are into nowadays:

Dinosaurs: They love them, though they don't have any dino toys.
Trains: They'd like Thomas Take-along stuff

Music: They love musical instruments, currently all we have is stuff that we have made. They'd also like their own music players (like toy cd players.)

Clothing: Size 2T for cool weather clothing; 3T for next year

Art: Art supplies are always a hit with the kids (not so much with the dad)

Imaginative Play: Puppets and costumes

Outdoor Toys: We play outside all the time, and plan to bring toys into the basement when the weather cools down. If it can't be used this year, there is always next summer!

Hopefully that is a good variety of ideas!

Daily Life at the White House

2009-07-28T22:50:00.006-05:00

Not to be completely outdone by my marvelous husband (round of applause for the great update he gave!), I thought I'd go ahead and post a few pictures taken in the past couple of days.

As Todd mentioned, I'm back to babysitting, up from three days a week to five. These two weeks have been extra busy, as I've had not one, but two additional toddlers running around. (Think about it... that's five little people; four of them between 16-22 months, and one not quite three months old. And you wonder why I don't have time to write or call?)

Evan has discovered a new love (and talent, I think!). Put a bat in his hand and he's all smiles!

I said, "Let's go play outside." They interepreted, "Let's go swimming!" So, fully clothed, they hopped right in (and yes, I consider my kids fully clothed even without shorts. It's summer and cloth diapers are cute!)

Silly Joel!

Toddlers find pleasure in the simple things.

I think this is a cute picture (of the kids, not myself!) "Storytime" is each morning; we always sit on this blanket. This is what they did as soon as I got it out.

We made paper bag puppets yesterday. Mikayla chewed hers apart, which is why she doesn't have one. She took Evan's when he wasn't looking, though...

And he now realizes she has chewed his apart as well!

I thought this was adorable. It's a good example of why I don't get nicer curtains!

Buddies hanging out together in the twins' room.

Where's Luke, you ask? Honestly, he doesn't do a whole lot right now, so while I take plenty of pictures of him, I decided to wait to share until I get a really cute one. (Just scroll down to Todd's post showing Luke pics. Looking at those pretty much tells you what my pictures look like as well.)

So there you go, a bit of our daily life!

July 25th - Todd's Post

2009-07-25T11:06:00.014-05:00

Well, it seems like everytime I talk to a relative on the phone they ask about the blog, and inquire about an update. We have been ultra busy with the arrival of Luke, and Sarah seems to have even less time than me ( Todd). So I decided that I would update this month being the super husband and father that I am :). I am not used to updating this, so I wanted to have it start with the beginning of the month and end with today, but instead it is the opposite, so bear with me.
This was from this past week, the twins love to use their kiddie pool and never miss an opportunity to get in, even if they are fully dressed! Their hair is getting lighter too!

Even though the house and yard are small it is a big world to Joel and Evan, and they are true explorers and investigate everything together ( including our neighbor Mr. Bart and his flowering hostas).

Luke is becoming an absolute doll. He has begun to smile and laugh, and lately he likes to babble an awful lot. But he is a good baby and sleeps much better than Joel and Evan ever did.

Joel was having a bad hair day.

Sarah took this picture of my three sons.

This Luke on vacation in Florida.

I still try to have the boys come to school and wear them out in the gym. On this day, they brought their friend George ( Blue ).

Sarah had taken Luke out with her, and the boys and I were all able to fall asleep in the recliner holding the big dog stuft animal.

Grandpa Wayne playing with Joel in the pool in Florida.

We went to the Tampa Zoo and as you can see Joel and Evan were able to feed a Giraffe, several times.

Luke got excited when he saw his older brothers in the pool, but doesn't enjoy it as much as they do. Grammy Margie is holding him.

Even though Luke is crying I still smile when I see this, he is just so cute.

Uncle Scott was fantastic with Joel and Evan, really banding with each of them and playing all the time.

Joel is still under the impression that Luke is his baby, he absolutley adores him.

Joel in the pool.

Evan in the pool.

Joel on the left, Evan on the right.

Joel and Evan were able to pet stingrays in the Tarpon Springs Aquarium.

Sarah was able to meet up with a friend ( Stephanie) she has in Florida.

This is Joel and Evan on July 4th waiting for Fireworks in Tampa. As it turned out, they were unable to make it and were too tired so we went back to the rental.

This is Luke in the beginning of July just relaxing in his bumbo seat.

Updates;

Sarah : She has started watching another toddler who is about 17 months old 5 days a week now. Amazingly enough, she had been able to handle it very well and schedules her day with lessons and a curriculum. At heart she is a teacher and she doesn't even know how talented she is. Her leaving the classroom impacted the students she worked with, but benefited our family.

Todd: I enjoyed the vacation to Florida, but it made me miss traveling. I have a fire burning inside me to start up again and visit Cambodia and Thailand, or head to Russia. I realize that won't happen for some time but I also look forward to taking the boys to visit destinations around the globe. School is going well, always busy. Sarah and I have frequent discussions about when I will be ready to job search for my own principalship, but for now I am still learning.

Joel : Ever the attention getter, he will mostly go against what you say with a smile on his face. It is a great game to him, but does cause us a couple headaches. He is very happy go lucky, and has a best friend in Evan. As I mentioned before, he adores Luke and cries when he is not allowed to have him on his lap ( monitored of course ).

Evan : He is starting to show a few signs of jealousy towards Luke and sometimes Conlin ( the boy that Sarah watches). He is going through the beginning of the terrible twos along with Joel, and tries to be independant. He is wanting to things his way, like after bath time he wants naked time to last forever and fights with all his will against the diaper and clothes. At the same time, is is also a lover and is always giving kisses and hugs.

Luke : Although Danger is his middle name, he has yet to live up to it. He sleeps well at night getting up once or twice. He stays awake a majority of the day, always looking forward to nursing. He is more of a momma's boy, but that has started to change with Daddy being around more lately. He likes his brothers and on several ocassions has laughed while they were trying to get him to. He is getting bigger all the time, wearing size 3 diapers and is already wearing 3-6 months clothing, but no girl friends yet.

In closing I will say that we will try harder to update the blog, but I am making no promises. :)

Pictures Galore!

2009-06-25T13:07:00.005-05:00

I've got a new camera! Hurray! All the kids are asleep at this moment, so I thought, while I may not have all that much time to write, I certainly can put up a few photos to make everyone happy. I'm going to add quite a few, so forgive me if the page loads slowly. Enjoy!

P.S. For those who are waiting and wondering, I realize thank you cards and birth announcements haven't made it out yet. Thank you to everyone for the kind wishes and lovely gifts. I promise I haven't forgotten; it's just that it is a bit hard to find the time to address all the envelopes. The twins are up no later than 6:30 each morning, and don't go to bed until 8:30 at night. Add a baby that nurses every hour and a half, and it turns out time for anything becomes rather limited! We are very thankful to all of you, though, and I hope the cards will be out very soon.

Last weekend we took the boys to visit their Nonnie and Poppy. We went to visit a local children's museum, so here are some pictures from that day.

Aunt Jessi and Joel:

Evan and his baby brother:

Joel (Daddy painted a fish on his forehead):

I love this photo of Evan because it totally shows his personality. "I'm having fun with this! Hey, what's THAT?!"

Guess who's overtired? Wow, this nifty new camera even captures the bags under Evan's eyes.

Must.. make... noise...

Getting their faces painted. (As you can see from previous photos, Evan did NOT like his. Hence, the pink E instead looks like a strange cut on his cheek.)

Aunt Jessi's boyfriend Mark kindly held Luke so that I could play photographer.

Sunny Days! We've been enjoying some beautiful, hot weather lately. The boys love their pool!

Popsicle break. Joel is one happy kid!
Evan showing off his manly figure, I guess.

Luke loves the sun, too!

Seven weeks old

Daddy and Luke enjoying each other's company

Hope that will keep everyone happy for a bit! I've got a lot more to add, so stay tuned for some new picture posts, plus the highly anticipated "A Day in the Life" post! (Who knows, maybe I'm the only one anticipating it. Whatever.)

Settling In

2009-05-20T20:03:00.004-05:00

Well, a big thanks to Todd for keeping things somewhat updated here! I finally have a moment, so thought I'd post a few pictures and say hi. Luke is going to be two weeks old tomorrow; I really am shocked to think that it's already been two weeks! I ended up with a c-section, so I'm on doctors orders not to do anything (no lifting, no carrying anything heavier than Luke, no cleaning, etc.) for six weeks in order for proper healing. That has been an absolute pain; how exactly do you parent toddlers when you can't do anything? We're trying to deal with it, after all, what can we do? But needless to say, it's been complete aggravation for both Todd and I. (Joel and Evan probably have mixed feelings regarding my inability to care for them; on the one hand, Mommy isn't picking them up when they want to be held. On the other hand, Mommy can't do much about them carrying meals into the living room, climbing all over furniture, and doing whatever else they'd normally be in trouble for.) Thank goodness for family and friends. My sister (Aunt Jessi) came into town for a few days and watched the boys while I was in the hospital. My stepmom (the boys Nonnie) came over for a few days last week to help out; she left exhausted, but it was wonderful having her! Then my mom (Grammy) came over for the weekend to help out as well; even with Todd at home, we still really, really needed and appreciated the help. She's coming back at the start of June, and I am really looking forward to seeing her again! We've got a few awesome friends filling in the gaps in the meantime, so Joel and Evan are able to hang out with some of their little friends instead of sitting around with boring ol' me. It's hard, but I'd say we're surviving!

Here are some pictures taken recently.

The big brothers holding their baby brother for the first time. Luke wasn't thrilled, but it went well.

Evan cuddling with his new brother. They really like him, sometimes a little too much! I've had to cut in on quite a few tickle sessions already!

My boys hanging out together!

Twin Power

2009-05-15T18:36:00.004-05:00

The twins haven't missed a beat with the arrival of their brother. You might ask what they have been up to. Well they play and dance non stop, always keeping themselves entertained, as you can see.

Eyes Wide Open

2009-05-11T15:41:00.004-05:00

Luke had his eyes open for a while today and we got it on video .

Now for the pictures!

2009-05-08T15:54:00.005-05:00

First I want to let everyone know that there are professional pictures to view online at http://www.bellababyphotography.com/ . The password is 0507lukewhite and the photographer is teresa.

Any way, I on my way back to the hosptial for the evening.

Todd

The new arrival!

2009-05-08T09:23:00.002-05:00

On Thursday May 7th at 10:07pm we added a new member to our family. Luke Danger White weighed in at 7lbs 7oz and is 19 inches long. Sarah is doing well in the hospital and is happy to have her little baby in the room with her as he has no health concerns and left the NICU in 4 hours. Aunt Jessie and I are getting ready to head to Sherman Hospital now and introduce Joel and Evan to their new brother. Pictures will follow later today.

Todd

Hello, April!

2009-05-02T06:46:00.008-05:00

Geesh, did I really miss posting the entire month of April? Time flew by way too quickly. Things have been so busy in our house, that I feel like I barely even have time to sit down and glance at the computer screen, let alone actually sit and type anything. So, sure it is technically now May, but here’s the update from the month of April!

EASTER
We had a fantastic holiday with family. My parents (Bob and Janice) invited us to a great restaurant along with my siblings, aunt, and grandparents. Let me tell you, there is nothing better than NOT having to cook a big meal and instead just being able to enjoy spending time together. (Usually, I love making big holiday dinners, but honestly, it sure does remove a ton of stress by going out instead!)
The boys’ great grandmother (Juanita) had bought them little dress outfits as a gift earlier in the year. I was able to use the pants and button-up shirt, and decided to go on the hunt for spring-colored accessories. Any parent of boys can attest to the fact that STORES DO NOT CARRY ENOUGH CLOTHING FOR BOYS!! I notice this all the time, but particularly when it comes to buying dress clothes. The aisles will be all little girl clothing, and there will be one shelf or rack dedicated to boys. Then I look and realize only half of the shelf is boy clothing, the rest is more stuff for girls.
I don’t get where the reasoning behind this practice comes in. When you have a baby, you’ve got just as much chance of having a boy as having a girl. So the number of kids getting dressed each day has to be close to 50%. Most parents of boys like to dress them, and in fact, dressing them is just as socially expected as dressing girls. So why, pray tell, do stores not feel they should stock up on clothing that parents could actually buy in order to dress boys?
Then, heaven forbid you have twin boys that wear the same size clothing. Good luck trying to find two jackets, two pairs of pants, two of the same shirt in the same size!
Anyway, the reason for my rant is that Easter shopping was a complete nightmare. JCPenney didn’t have anything. Walmart didn’t have anything. Gymboree, Target… everywhere I went had one random suit in various sizes, but nothing that would actually work. Then I stopped at Children’s Place, and finally was able to do through various bins of random accessories.
The result? I am a style genius! Kidding, but seriously, these were the sharpest looking little boys I have ever seen! It definitely helps that my boys (especially Joel) love wearing hats!
Here are some pictures. Go ahead and drool over the cuteness!

SPRING IS HERE!
I love spring. I complain all winter long, because I hate cold weather. I hate snow, I hate ice, I hate everything about cold winter days. Then, one day we all wake up, and birds are chirping, grass appears, and life suddenly becomes enjoyable again. People always asking me “Where are you from?” thinking that I have been tricked into moving to this foul-weathered place called the Midwest. Nope, I’ve been here all my life, and all my life I’ve complained about the misery that winter brings.
But that is in the past, and I will be a jolly ol’ gal for at least another month! (Then summer will bring horrid heat and it’s own type of misery, and I’ll start getting grumpy again and imagining all the much better places to live.)
Unfortunately, this year we haven’t spent nearly as much time outside as I would like. I’m just too big and pregnant, and I can’t chase the boys when I need to. They run, oh yes, they run far and fast whenever given the opportunity, so I’ve got to be very careful with determining how much work is going to be involved with taking them out.
Regardless, we have managed to at least somewhat take advantage of the beautiful weather! The boys play out in the backyard quite a bit. They really enjoy drawing with sidewalk chalk, and Joel is a huge fan of making messes with the dirt in the flower pot. (Evan does his best to clean up all the dirt as Joel throws it everywhere.) The boys have a bubble machine that they play with constantly; Joel, for some reason, insists on standing directly in front of the machine as the bubbles blow out, so he gets a faceful each time! The other day, he turned and looked at me, and opened his mouth, and a bubble blew out! (I’m not joking. It was practically a scene from The Little Rascals!) We’ve got a dog that lives behind us, and Joel and Evan love to run to the fence and interact with her. They are starting to talk more each day, but still uses “Ga” and “Da” a lot of the time. Imagine my surprise when Joel (or was it Evan?) turned to me the other day and said “Sa-ee” for Sassy, the name of the dog!

GROWING BOYS
Speaking of, um, speaking, it is amazing to finally hear Joel and Evan using actual words! They still use plenty of their own language, but now are imitating on a consistent basis. As we get to converse with them, we get to see their individual personalities coming out more each day. They are now (successfully) sleeping in their toddler beds in their “big boy room”. Naptime was very difficult for a while there, but they’ve adjusted well and get excited when I tell them to go upstairs for blankies and pillows.

Joel is definitely a born entertainer. He loves to make others laugh. He loves to make himself laugh. In the middle of the night, he wakes up whimpering. As soon as we head into his room to check on him, he starts laughing! He is a huge goofball! And, oh, what a little troublemaker as well. I’ll catch him doing something wrong, tell him to stop, and he’ll continue to pretend to do it, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. He likes to test boundaries and see how we’ll react. For us, this usually means doing our best to fight back a smile as best possible, because it’s humorous to watch him in action.

Evan continues to be a headstrong, but lovable little boy. Of course they are both “lovable”, but this kid LOVES to give hugs and kisses! If there were awards given for “best hugger” Evan would win hands down. If you see him, ask for a hug, and you’ll understand. He is an absolute doll… when he is happy. Like all toddlers, Evan feels the need to have his way all the time, and if he doesn’t get it, the world must suffer. He throws some incredible tantrums when he wants to. Luckily, this doesn’t happen too often, and for the most part, we have two happy little boys on our hands.

Painting the Easter Eggs (and themselves!)

BABY LUKE

Finally, a quick update on our soon-to-be boy #3. I’m still pregnant, but not for too much longer. I’m due at the end of May, but once again I have that itching condition (ICP, or Cholestasis), so I have to deliver before hitting 38 weeks. This means that by mid-May, Baby Luke will be here! I’m uncomfortable, but actually dealing with this pregnancy quite well. (I haven’t written any eviction notices this time around!) I’ve continued to babysit throughout the entire month of April, so for the most part, I am feeling much better than I had with the twins.
At the start of April we had a bit of a scare. I went to see a specialist because my dr. thought Luke may be a bit on the large side (I have Gestational Diabetes again, which tends to result in larger babies.) While doing the ultrasound, the doctor noticed that the umbilical cord is missing an artery (there is only one instead of two.) This concerned him, as oftentimes this could lead to kidney and heart problems in utero. A few days later we had an appointment with the cardiologist, and are happy to report that Luke’s lungs and heart look to be fully functioning, no issues whatsoever. Thank you Lord!
As for the size issue, at that checkup he measured 5lb 5oz (the 68%ile.) So, I don’t foresee him being a huge baby, but he is certainly going to seem big compared to the other two! We’ll be meeting him anytime between now and May 12th, so keep checking back for updates! We’ll post the birth news on the blog as soon as we get the chance.

Funtime Photos

2009-03-07T13:37:00.003-06:00

I've had some fun with my old camera over the past week or so, so thought I'd share some of our fun times with you.
We finally had some great weather this week, so the boys were able to explore the backyard for the first time ever.

"What is THIS thing?" "I don't know, but we better see if we can break it!"

Joel is a happy camper!

"Come here, doggy!" Joel has just learned that a friendly little dog lives behind us.

The boys discovered the GREATEST TOY EVER! DIRT!!

Joel, Conlan (a boy I babysit), and Evan, hard at work.

Back inside...
Hi Evan!

Mr Magoo? Nope, just Evan showing off his cool glasses.

On Saturdays, the boys have a class at The Little Gym. They absolutely love it. Joel is surprisingly good on all the equipment... maybe a future gymnast on our hands? (He certainly is energetic enough!)

Bubbles Galore!

Evan practicing the parallel bars

Evan and Daddy doing lifts on the bars (Joel actually almost does a handstand when he is on them!)

February!

2009-02-26T10:19:00.008-06:00

Another month has passed, and it was busy as usual! Joel and Evan are now 17 months old. At their checkup we got current weights on them: Evan is 20lbs, and 30 1/2"; Joel is 22lbs, and 30". They are still on the small side for their age, but are definitely growing. We've finally made it into 12-18month clothing!

Evan has been imitating a lot, lately. He doesn't say words on his own too much (although he enjoys saying "Hi" over and over), but he tries to repeat all the words that I ask him to say, and he's very proud of himself for trying. He is a definite people pleaser, and our big helper. Whenever I ask him to get me something, or to put something in the garbage, he happily does so. It is fantastic having kids who understand what I ask of them. I LOVE this age!!!!

Sweet Evan! (I told him to "smile for the camera")

Joel is our little rebel. Anything we ask of him is guaranteed to be done the opposite way. He refuses to try talking (although he babbles up a storm). If we tell him not to do something, I can guarantee he will attempt to do it. He gives a devilish little smile when he knows he's being naughty, and I swear I can read his mind as he's trying to figure out just how far he can push my buttons! I can completely see my personality in him; Todd always says, "That's all you!", and I have trouble arguing with him, because it's true. We really have to hold back our laughter with Joel, because he is just plain funny and knows it!

Joel is always up for fun!

The boys are getting into squabbles regularly. I often turn around and catch them wrestling and screaming at each other. Timeouts are becoming more frequent, now that they actually understand what it means. I found a great spot for timeouts at the bottom of the stairs, just on the other side of the playroom gate. It looks like a little jail cell and works perfectly!

When they aren't fighting, they have a great time together. I love seeing the two boys playing with each other, and I have trouble imagining just having one. Of course, I'm always having trouble imagining having three, which isn't too far away!

When they aren't fighting, they adore each other!

We recently went to their friend Lizzy's birthday party. The boys had lots of fun!

(Joel, Lizzy, and Evan)

The boys talking to their friend Addie

They love playing with balls. We need to get one of these toys! (Throw the balls in to score points.)

Look at these big boys in their carseats!

Evan

Joel

Our big news this month is that the boys have begun potty training. We started just a few days ago. What an adventure! I think I'll devote an entire blog entry to the joys of PT, because the experience has been humorous, to say the least.

And of course I can't forget an update about baby #3! Pregnancy has been great this time around. So far, no real complications. I can still carry the twins, but it is a struggle and getting harder each day. The boys are constantly getting knocked over by my big belly! I'm currently on the hunt for a good triple stroller, since I know the twins won't be old enough to walk next to me when we go out. Besides that, we've got pretty much everything we need for this time around, which is a definite perk to having another boy. And... we picked out a name! Our new little boy is Lukas (call him Luke) White. Middle name still to be agreed upon... let's just say it's an interesting choice, if we stick with what we've got right now.

Growing and Growing and Growing!

2009-01-12T14:24:00.007-06:00

We had a great, though extremely busy, holiday season. The boys continue to run from the camera quicker than I can get pictures taken, but I was able to capture a few cute ones over a few days time:

Evan sitting in the ornament wreath:

Joel decorating himself (this was the day I was attempting to get Christmas pictures taken. Didn't really work out.... oh well, that's life with 15-month-old boys!)

Remember this picture from Christmas '07? Joel decided to recreate it!

Smile, Joel!

Hello, Evan!

Joel opening a Christmas present... art supplies!

Aunt Jessi bought a table and chairs for the boys. It has turned out to be the greatest. The boys no longer need high chairs (hurray!) We keep this in the kitchen; when the boys see me going in to make a meal, they climb into their seats and wait (impatiently, but at least they seat themselves!)

Todd doesn't get a holiday break like the teachers and students, so he is at work while the building is nice and quiet. We went to visit him one day, and played in the gym. The boys ran around for about two hours straight. Needless to say, when we came home, they collapsed and took wonderful, long naps.

Here they are playing with the scooters:

We were suprised by how well they did at golf! They understood the concept of hitting the ball with the clubs. I'm thinking we have little future stars on our hands!

Besides golf and scooters, the boys played with soccer and basketballs, and climbed around on the mats. What a fun day!

Now that we've received lots of art supplies for Christmas, we've done quite a few art projects. One thing that they really both enjoy is painting. Take note, I didn't say painting paper:

Joel's going for the "Goth" look here:

Last week, I was sick and not paying too much attention. Joel and Evan got into the art supply box, and next thing I knew, there was paint all over the living room. Todd was NOT happy when he came home. We've now moved all the art supplies to the play room, and they are kept well out of reach!

Christmas cards never did actually make it out. We designed them, and printed them, and... well, that's as far as I got. I hope you all had a great season. Here's what you would have received, had I actually mailed the cards:

And, just in case you haven't heard, we've got news...

Joel and Evan are getting another brother! My due date has been moved up to May 28th (about a week earlier than originally thought.) Yes, we are going to have three boys under two years apart. This is going to be a very, very interesting household!

The Mini Post (Christmas Wishlist)

2008-12-11T00:31:00.003-06:00

For those who need to know... here are gift ideas for the boys:

"Cleaning" toys- They love to help clean. Sweeping and vacuuming is very big with them right now.

Bop Bag- Those inflatable punching toys that don't fall down.

DoodlePro/Art Toys- The boys LOVE doing art (taking after Daddy already), so anything that is toddler safe would be fun for them.

Toys with buttons to push- They are big fans of the remote control and the phone. It'd be nice for them to play with actual toys, not actual electronics.

Here's a link to a toy "wishlist" I put together at ToysRUs. I don't really care about the brand of items, it's more about the type of toy that they like. http://www.toysrus.com/wishlist/search/index.jsp?_flowExecutionKey=_c548720A2-34CD-0A3D-63FF-4C13B8D4B106_k64DA7F88-83DC-A94E-AB6E-0DC4EFDDFDA5 (Under Find Wishlist, type in our last name and it'll appear)

Clothes: Heck if I know what size to get them anymore. Evan is still comfortable in 6/9 month pants. Joel's in 12 months. Both wear 12 months on top. Good luck figuring that out.

Books: Please, PLEASE no books. We have a huge library at this point. The boys LOVE to read, but we've got books coming out of our ears right now.

Videos: Both boys really enjoy Sesame Street, especially Elmo. They are really into music, so the more musical, the better!

Also, please note that one of something equals massive fights between them! If it is something they can share or play together, they enjoy it, but if it is something small/handheld, they nonstop attack each other. So please keep that in mind. Make my life a little easier!

The Lonely December Post

2008-12-10T23:20:00.004-06:00

I'm calling it this, because, let's face it, these postings are getting to be few and far between! So, in this one post I'll try to sum up anything that may be of interest, and that'll just have to do for now.

NOVEMBER

November was a fun month. The boys are SO active now. It's unbelievable to look at those old pictures of them lying around. I think to myself, "Why on earth did I feel so busy? What was I DOING all that time?" (Maybe I just have a terrible memory, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what made it seem like such hard work!) NOW, though... this is WORK! It's a great stage in development. The boys are enjoying being able to explore, and that actually gives me an opportunity to attempt to get a few things done around the house. Not that I truly accomplish much of anything, but I'd say my productivity level increased from about 20% to, oh, maybe 40% in November? At this rate, we should again have a somewhat clean home by the year 2012. No, I'm not taking into account that I will have three kids running wild. I refuse to even try to imagine what it will be like around here at that point in time. My head is stuck in the sand-- no, make that snow-- and I'm perfectly happy leaving it there for awhile.

STILL NOVEMBER

We had a great Thanksgiving! For the first time in many, many years, but we decided to head down to see the Missouri crowd this year. We figured it'll probably be much harder with three kids, so this was the one year that seemed like a great opportunity to visit Janice's side (my stepmom), as well as get in a short visit with Todd's Dad and grandmothers. Days before leaving, I was cursing the decision, fearing a difficult car ride (with toddlers that HATE carseats), worrying that we'd be chasing them nonstop at the Mercantile (my aunt is a dollmaker, which means we would be tempting the boys with about a thousand breakable dolls within easy reach), and finishing that with a visit with Grandpa's dog (the cutest, but shyest thing I've ever seen. I imagined her having a heart attack while being preyed upon by the boys!)

I worried for nothing. The car ride went great. We broke the trip up into three parts, staying with Mamaw (Todd's grandma) for one night, then a few nights in MO, then the trip home. The Mercantile visit was fun, and the boys enjoyed exploring but didn't get into trouble (hurray!) And at Grandpa's house (Grandma Linda had a jewelry show, so was out of town), the boys happily chased Musashi (the dog), and she ended up enjoying being around them. Plus, we had steak for dinner while we were there, which automatically deems the visit a success in my book. (I've been craving steak all throughout this pregnancy, so it was nice to finally get to enjoy it!)

DECEMBER

December has not been so kind to us. I guess we were enjoying November a bit too much, and needed to be knocked down a bit. Nothing major, but just enough to remind me that I really, really hate winter, so I'm not a fan of this month in general.

A few days after returning home from Missouri, I made the mistake of giving Joel an itty bitty teeny tiny miniscule bite of my peanut butter toast. Oops. Turns out what we already thought may be allergy is now absolutely, most definitely, an allergy. After a few hours in the ER and multiple medications, he was fine, but not until after I had nearly had a heart attack from guilt and worry. (Have you ever seen an EYEBALL swell? Not the lid, not the skin, but the actual eyeball? That was the first sign that things were wrong. When a swollen eyeball is the initial sign of "something is wrong", you know it is not a good thing.) Everything turned out fine, though, and I'm actually glad we now have confirmation that peanuts are completely off limits. (FYI- He's allergic to tomatoes as well. Just in case we ever come over, please don't serve tomato salad and pizza with spaghettios on the side!)

So, after our little ER escapade, life went back to normal. For a day. Then we all developed a lovely stomach virus. It lasted for days. Four very sick people in a house does not make for a pretty site. Today was the first day we all pretty much felt normal again.

That brings me to current day. See how easy that was? Oh, if you are wondering "how's the pregnancy, Sarah?", the answer is, so far, so good! It has been so easy compared to last time that I nearly forget all about it half the time. Hopefully we'll have gender news sometime next month. Names are completely at a loss so far. I'm thinking I'll post a naming contest, and you all can do the work for us!

And where might the pictures be?

Well, pictures are getting much harder to come by these days. The boys now think the camera is a toy. They know that it has a screen on the back to see the pictures. So, this is pretty much all I get nowadays:

Here's one that I think is pretty fun, though. The boys were enjoying chocolate pudding. They don't get it very often (if you've ever changed a kid's diaper after eating pudding, you know why.)

"MORE, PLEASE!"

I've been taking a lot of video, though, so just as soon as I can remember how to actually load it onto the computer, you'll get some real viewing pleasure.

Oh, and before I forget, we've got an official first word! (Besides Mama and Da-ee)

The first word is...

BUMP

They both said it the same day, nearly at the same time. We were out in the wagon, and went over a bump. I guess they felt the need to inform me about it.

Haven't had much beyond baby babble since, but they say "bump" regularly and with gusto!

Halloween Pics

2008-11-09T20:04:00.004-06:00

I'm getting these up a bit late, but here are some photos from Halloween. The boys LOVED trick-or-treating. The weather was incredible (high 60s that day, amazing!) They were quite a hit throughout the neighborhood. It was sad to have to stop, but really, how much candy do they really need (meaning, how much candy do I really need?)

For all you Dr. Seuss fans, here they are: Thing 1 (Joel) and Thing 2 (Evan)! (From the Cat in the Hat, for those who don't know.)

We've had bouts of illnesses in the house lately, but nevertheless, we always find time for fun. Last weekend we took the boys to their first sporting event. Soccer? Nope. A Bulls game! Todd scored tickets (pun intended, ha!), so we decided to take the boys out for a night of fun. They loved it. We had great seats, so they actually watched the game quite a bit of the time. They seemed especially interested when the LuvaBulls cheerleaders came out and danced (typical guys.) It was a great time.

Yesterday we decided to head to the Shedd Aquarium for a few hours. It was cold and rainy/snowy outside, and packed in the aquarium. The boys didn't complain, though! They loved the seeing all the different fish, and were especially happy to be allowed to get down and walk throughout the exhibits. They are walking all over now, and it was quite funny to see these little boys toddling along amidst crowds of adults. We ran into another set of twins, girls who are just three months older than our boys. The girls seemed HUGE next to Joel and Evan. The boys haven't grown in awhile, and it's becoming apparent just how short they are! Oh well, there's nothing wrong with being little. Other than it's hard to reach things. I don't mind, though... keeps them from being able to climb on the couch!

Blog Construction Ahead

2008-10-24T11:00:00.002-05:00

I'll keep posting, but as you may notice I'm making lots of changes to give the blog a new look. Please ignore the mess as I try my hand at blog design 101!

October Happenings

2008-10-22T11:57:00.006-05:00

Does it seem as if I've forgotten about my blog? Really, I haven't, its just hard to find the time to sit down and write. Plus, my camera has been on the fritz, so getting pictures uploaded to the computer has been a bit of a chore.

I can't believe how quickly this month is passing by! There is always so much to do, and never enough time. I really cannot figure out how working moms do it.

I haven't been able to take too many pictures this month, but here are a few taken the other day. The boys are enjoying being "toddlers" now, and they walk, well, toddle, all over the place. Here we went on a walk outside. They were very pleased to be able to make the decisions of where to walk all by themselves! Evan discovered our neighbors dog and kept turning up the driveway to see it instead of following me. He's definitely got a mind of his own!

Joel

Evan

Evan with his proud find!

We are loving the fall weather and trying to get out every day. We recently took a trip to a local pumpkin patch, and our lovely photographer, Drew, accompanied us and did a photo shoot. He did a beautiful job, as always. Here a just a few cute ones from the shoot. They're unedited, so this is "raw footage"... but I still think they are gorgeous.

And here's one that I turned into a scrapbook page:

Were you paying attention?

That's right... I'm pregnant again! For those of you who know how much of a struggle we went through to have the boys, you know what I mean when I say this is truly our miracle baby! It came as a total surprise to us. For years I've been saying that it would take a miracle for me to conceive. Oddly enough, a few weeks before seeing that + sign, I created this little signature for myself:

Does God have a sense of humor or what?

For those saying, "Oh boy... is it going to be like last time?", here's my response:

1. There is just one baby this time, so hopefully things'll go a bit smoother.

2. IF I end up with the cholestasis again (the itching, and yes, there is increased chance since I've had it before), I know the signs and can take measures to deal with it as best possible.

3. I feel much more mentally prepared this time around (I see the light at the end of the tunnel!), so I think that'll help tremendously.

So, we're thrilled at the idea of one more baby, and I'm LOVING my due date. My birthday is in January (think heavy snowstorms), and Todd's is in February (think frigid days and winter depression,) so to have all of our kids with SUMMER birthdays is the greatest thing in the world to me!

Our Little Boys

2008-09-24T23:07:00.007-05:00

Thought I'd post a few pictures of the boys. I took them over the course of the last week or so. I can't believe how quickly they are growing. I was looking back at the pictures Drew took at 8 months (the Hat Series was part of that shoot), and they both had much rounder faces and MUCH less hair. My boys are looking more like toddlers each day!

Aunt Jessi brought them these shirts from China. The pandas are doing Tai Chi! We figured they'd fit in another year, but I love how they look on the boys now! Oh, and I've decided yellow is definitely their color (just like Daddy!)

Evan

Look at his legs up behind him. I think it's adorable when he lays this way!

Joel... too focused on Sesame Street to pay attention to the camera!

I do realize Joel has a lot of drool in this picture (teething... lovely, isn't it?), but I was trying to capture both of their faces for comparison. So many people struggle with telling them apart. I just don't get it... they don't look even remotely the same to me!

We went to an apple orchard last weekend. Funny thing is, there was so much to do, that we were all wiped out by the time we were supposed to go apple picking, so we skipped it! (I did buy a peck of apples, though, and the boys are fanatics about them, not that it's a big surprise.)

Daddy and the boys (Evan's hat is turned up.)

Addie (Joel and Evan's friend) driving the big rig

Cuties in the pretend train

Are they gorgeous or are they gorgeous or are they gorgeous?!

Here comes the Choo-Choo train!

Evan's happy

Joel enjoying the ride

Our last stop of the day was to ride the carousel. Little did we know it was insanely fast. Todd volunteered to ride with the boys. For those who know Todd well, you know he can't handle rides. He nearly puked! Evan was crying, I think because he could see that I wasn't riding with him. That, or he was scared of Daddy upchucking all over him!

Who cares if we didn't pick the apples ourselves? (Joel ate two in a row, and Evan had one and part of another. I think we can safely say they enjoy apples!)

And finally, some really adorable pics (unedited, so ignore the red eye) of the boys showing off their new shoes. Joel was especially excited about them!

(Yes, for those of you who are incredibly observant, that IS a toilet box in our living room. And for those of you saying, "Hasn't that been there for a while now?", well, yes, it has. We've found it makes a superb extra gate, which is why we have yet to return it to buy the correct one. And yes, you are correct, that means we still don't have a toilet in the downstairs bathroom. Anyone wanna take bets on how much time passes before we actually get to use the bathroom again?)

P.S. Did anyone notice my mistake in the caption of Daddy and the boys? I said "Evan's hat is turned up." Looking again, I just realized that is Joel, NOT Evan! Okay, maybe they do look kind of alike after all!

The Birthday Party Pictures

2008-09-21T22:12:00.002-05:00

Well, I lost my camera the day of the party (found it afterward, of course.) So all pictures are courtesy of my lovely guests who sent me lots of pictures. Thank you! I would have been pretty heartbroken to put all that work into the day only to not have any images afterward.

Here's the quickie montage I created.

The Boys' Birthday Party

Birthday Pictures

2008-09-08T09:07:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures from the birthday party... more to come!

Look at these cutie pies!

The boys each had their own "Smash Cake", which wasn't even remotely smashed! They were very delicate, actually, but really enjoyed it.

The Birthday Cake (I'd like to take all the credit for it, but Melissa did most of the work!)

Happy Birthday, Sweet Babies!

2008-09-06T20:21:00.007-05:00

Well, I survived the day without shedding any tears.

The babies are now ONE.

It really hit yesterday. It was one year ago that the doctor told us, "We're going to deliver tomorrow." I'll never forget the feeling driving home that evening. The shock, complete, overwhelming, shock, as I realized what I had been begging for all those weeks was finally going to happen. Suddenly, we weren't sure we were quite ready. Suddenly, I thought, a few more weeks, or at least a few more days, seemed more than necessary, and certainly survivable, on my part.

The morning arrived, we drove to the hospital, and that was that. Before we knew it, the boys were here. I knew their cries as soon as they were born. I knew that nothing could top that moment in time. 12:15-12:16pm; my two proudest minutes in life. Isn't it funny that I felt like I despised pregnancy, but I loved the delivery? I remember being frustrated and uncomfortable throughout the pregnancy (I certainly don't remember it being as miserable as I had made it seem,) but I remember my delivery as the most relaxing, cathartic moment I've ever experienced. It was truly lovely.

And now, it's unbelievable to think that whole experience was a year ago. I don't know exactly how I feel. "That was already a YEAR ago?!" or "That was only a YEAR ago?"

It's bittersweet, I guess. My little boys are growing up. We had their birthday party last weekend, and I couldn't have asked for a better time. The day was gorgeous, the park was a perfect setting. The barnyard zoo was a perfect backdrop for our "Barnyard" party theme. Joel and Evan were absolutely precious; they didn't really get a good nap in that morning, so I was worried they may not be up to partying, but they were little troopers and on excellent behavior the entire time. By the end of the party, both boys were completely exhausted and fell asleep on their great-grandmothers (Mamaw and Nana's) laps. Both ladies had made the long journey from near St. Louis to come to the party, but I think that moment probably made the trip well worth it!

The boys received so many fantastic gifts. It was a shame that they couldn't enjoy opening them, but I certainly enjoyed myself! I was in the hospital for the baby showers, so this was my moment to experience what I'd missed last year.

Everything was just perfect at last week's party, and we followed it up with another fun day today. We had swimming class this morning, which the boys loved. Then in the afternoon we had some baby friends over for a "Fisher Price Party"; basically, Fisher Price sent me a bunch of toys (for free!), with the instructions, "Invite friends over and play." So the boys got two parties for the price of one... I don't think they have anything to complain about!

We need to get to the doctor this week for the 12-month checkup. I'll post current ht./wt. info when I get it.

More pictures to come, but here's a start!

EDIT: Pictures will be added shortly. Blogger is messing with my brain right now, and not letting me publish the photos.

A Post For Those Asking about Birthday Present Ideas

2008-08-13T21:33:00.004-05:00

Lots of people are asking what to get the boys for their birthday, so I thought this is a good place to post my suggestions.

Quite frankly, I've never had one-year-olds before. So I'm not really any better than anyone else at guessing what sort of things they are going to like over the coming months. At this point in time, they really enjoy dropping balls into things. They like banging things. They like climbing into things. And they like soft things, such as stuffed animals and pillows.

So, if you want to get them some sort of gift, here are possible suggestions:
BATH: toddler bath towels, robes, toys, toy storage, etc.
CLOTHES: Cold-weather clothing: size 18months Warm-weather clothing: size 24months; Shoes: size 4 (Note: It's easiest for me to dress them identically or in coordinating outfits.)
FURNITURE: Kid-sized furniture for the playroom, such as little chairs, flip sofas, tables, playtents, etc.
FEEDING: Sippy cups, feeding utensils, dishes, etc. Please get BPA free (the front of the packaging will mention if it is.)
TOYS: toys to pull, push, connect, or have wheels (so they can push/pull/drive.) Also, outdoor toys for next summer could be fun (and they are probably on clearance right now!)

And of course, savings bonds, Google stock (haha, Jess!), and those sort of things are always wonderful.

Hopefully that'll be helpful to those of you who were wondering. I always have trouble shopping for... well, for pretty much everyone, but I find trying to figure out what to get toddlers especially daunting.

27 Days of Babyhood Left

2008-08-10T14:58:00.004-05:00

Look how close we are getting to the 1st birthday! These babies aren't going to be babies much longer. It's bittersweet, really. Months 10 and 11 have been absolutely amazing, as the boys' personalities are really becoming evident now. They are behaving less like babies and more like toddlers every day. They are both experts at climbing stairs now (we've got gates up, but they get to climb when it's time for bed.) We've got new teeth appearing each day (at least that's how it feels), and Joel is especially pleased to be testing them on his brother. (Evan's arm was covered in marks a couple days ago. Poor kid. I guess Joel is retaliating for Evan "bullying" him over the past few months.)
It's been a lovely time, really. They've been really cuddly over the past few weeks, which we are eating up, considering neither of the boys have ever really been cuddlers. Nowadays, they've been playing "Climb the Mommy/Daddy Mountain" while we lay on the floor. I guess climbing us is an exhausting feat, because once they reach the top, both lay on us for a few minutes, which makes the two of us feel like the greatest people on the planet. Then it's roll down the mountain, and off to fight over the same toy; nevermind the fact that there are probably two hundred other toys right next to them. A few bites out of Joel, a few slaps and scratches from Evan, tears shed, and back to Mommy and Daddy once again.
Beyond the fighting/playing/fighting (or vice versa on a good day), we've learned that these are FUNNY kids. They love to laugh. Games like "Fly-Swatter Mission Impossible" are especially fun. (The game consists of Mommy grabbing the fly-swatter and slapping at imaginary flies while making amazing kung-fu-like moves. It's hilarious, at least when you are 11 months old. Although Todd seems to appreciate it, as well.) The boys find joy in just about everything, whether it's a game of chase, playing Shake-the-Gates-as-Hard-as-We-Can, chewing shoes (I don't know where they come from, they just keep reappearing!), or whatever, life is just generally fun when you've got a twin to share it with.

We've been sick lately (Todd first, then the boys, now I'm finally getting over it), so I haven't had time to take pictures or post too much.) Here are a few pictures over the past few weeks. Enjoy!

We borrowed this horse strictly for pictures. I didn't realize how huge it was! They fell off pretty quickly.

A day in the pool

Not walking on his own yet, but Joel loves to stand!

Scrapbook page

P.S. A BIG THANK YOU to those who have been sending me coupons! I'm loving them! I've been getting some great deals, thanks to you all. Keep 'em coming! (Yesterday's shopping alone: I believe I bought around $200 worth of items for an out-of-pocket cost of around $45, give or take!)

As for Julia's question re: diapers, we've gone back to cloth (Joel gets rashes in disposables), but we use Pampers wipes. When I get coupons that I don't use, I can trade them for ones that I need. Also, expired coupons go to military families (they can use them), so even those are useful.

Will You Do Me a Favor?

2008-07-24T23:19:00.002-05:00

Hello to all my lovely readers! I have a favor to ask. Being a stay-at-home mom, I am quickly learning the value of a dollar (oh the things I wish I had known before having kids!)

Anyway, I have become a major coupon clipper, and I am asking all of you to save coupons for me! Those who use them, keep doing so, but if you are someone who gets them and doesn't want to deal with the hassle of clipping, I'd love if you'd be willing to save them for me! Unclipped, just toss them into a bag and set aside. I'll pay shipping, just email me whenever you have a stash for me. My email is whitepeapod@gmail.com (and for those wondering, it doesn't matter where you are in the country reading this. Manufacturer coupons can be used all over the place.)

Coupons are hot commodities in my little world, and I'm not above begging to get extras whenever I can! I'm somewhat tempted to start some good ol' dumpster diving (through recycle bins), but for the sake of my family (who will no doubt throw a fit just by me mentioning the term) I'll leave that option alone for now. So please, if you want to keep me out of the dumpsters, save those precious inserts for me!!

(Just for a little guidance, the majority of coupons are generally found in the paper as a booklet, with one of the following headers: SmartSource, Valassis, and Red Plum.)

Thanks in advance!

The Hat Series

2008-07-11T14:51:00.003-05:00

I know I just posted yesterday, but I just got these back and have been dying to share them with the world! Remember those incredibly gorgeous b&w photos of the boys from last December? Well, Drew did another photo shoot of them back in May. He is absolutely incredible. I got a lot of beautiful pictures, but what I call "The Hat Series" are by far my favorites. I hope everyone gets a kick out of these- there is such humor in the set! Please, please take a moment to leave a comment and let Drew know how fantastic he is. If you could see him in action, you'd appreciate how much went into these five photos alone.

Without further adieu, here is "The Hat Series" by Drew Pistilli.

Ten Months and Counting...

2008-07-10T16:27:00.004-05:00

I know I'm very behind on posting; it's been a busy summer so far! July 6th marked 10 months for the boys. Doesn't it feel like January was just here? How on earth are we already halfway through July??
Last month, I took the boys to the dr. and got heights and weights. At the time (so, at 9 months), Joel was 18lb12oz, and Evan was 17lbs4oz. Evan is generally the better eater, but he's also very active, whereas Joel is... let's say laid back... so I guess Evan must burn more calories, and hence, remain the smaller twin.

Both boys are now ALL over the place, all the time. They are incredibly fast crawlers, and of course always heading in opposite directions, so as to keep Mommy on her toes. They are very happy, playful little boys, and enjoy playing together as well as apart. Actually, "playing together" usually consists of a lot of ear-pulling, paci-stealing, and other such behaviors. In general, they often head different directions to play, but I notice they constantly look at each other from across the room, and often smile, laugh, and babble together. It's really the most amazing thing to watch the two of them growing up together.

Our anniversary (5 years) was June 21st, so we went to a local hotel for the weekend. It's got a really nice indoor waterpark, and was all around a great place to take the boys. (Todd and I are both HUGE waterpark fans, so this was right up our alley, too.) It was expensive, but SO nice to finally have a vacation together.

Speaking of vacations, Todd left for China today. He took a group for a 13-day trip. I think he was pretty sad leaving the boys, but he loves travel, so he'll enjoy himself. He promised this is the last trip without us, though, and I plan to hold him to that! We've traveled with this same company multiple times in the past (we took students to Italy and Greece, and went on our own to Amsterdam and Paris. He also went to Barcelona this past January.) It's a great tour company (ACIS), and with the dollar so low, we're glad he had chosen China versus another Europe trip this time around. The boys' and I have lots of playdates and family visits planned, so hopefully we'll keep busy enough not to miss him too much (I'm already sad that he's gone. Oh well; maybe he'll bring me back something nice to make up for it.)

We took a lot of pictures throughout the past month, so I thought I'd share a random selection:

One of our playdates with the moms' group I run. Joel and Evan are in the middle.

At the hotel. This is where Joel really learned to crawl!

Lounging in the Lazy River:

These boys LOVE food! Joel automatically smiles like this whenever he sees my camera. What a ham!

Playing with one of our awesome toys! (Joel being a ham again.)

Fun in the cribs:

And one of my favorite pictures: Evan in the duck toybox!

Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T16:11:00.002-05:00

The boys and I gave Todd a video as his Father's Day gift today. He asked me to put a link on here so everyone who wants to can view it.

(There's music, so you need your volume on.)

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Nine Months... sigh...

2008-06-05T21:31:00.008-05:00

Where has the time gone? How it is that my pregnancy felt like an eternity, and now, nine months has flown by in the blink of an eye?

These sweet boys are seeming less like babies every day. They are growing so quickly, and I feel like I need to hit some pause button on life just to take each moment as it comes.
I'm so thankful that I get to be home with them each day, so that I get to live all these special moments with them. So much of the time I am wishing someone else were here to witness it all with me. Our boys are just plain fantastic. Really, truly, FANTASTIC little boys.
Three more months until their birthday. I'm going to be a wreck that day, I can feel it already.

Moving on...

As for growth info, I don't know their height/weight info right now. They both seem to be growing fine, though. They certainly have fabulous appetites! We're still nursing about four times a day (each), but they also eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday as well. These boys will down just about anything! They are especially big fans of fruit, and one of their favorite treats are "popsicles", which is frozen fruit in a mesh container. It's probably the messiest thing I can give them, but man, they LOVE it!

Like I said, MESSY!!

Evan is very close to "official crawling", but hasn't actually gone forward yet. He is quite efficient at getting around, though, and I really can't turn my back on him for a moment. Joel is not really interested in crawling (he will put half-effort into it for about three seconds, then get bored.) He is much more interested in standing. Constantly. He can't pull himself up, but he fights when I try to get him into a sitting position. I figure he'll just skip the crawling thing and eventually start trying to take steps.

Here they are practicing standing in Evan's crib. Notice the pride on Joel's face!

And I just have to throw this one in because they are so stinkin' cute!!

Prayer Requests:

I know lots of people who are in need of lots of prayer right now, so I thought it appropriate to get the message out for them.

A friend of mine just lost one of her twins (the baby was 3 days old), and is need of prayer for comfort. The babies were born at 31 weeks, and the son is doing well but has a long road ahead in the NICU. The mom spent 77 days in the hospital, as her water broke at 20 weeks. The chances of survival were slim for baby A, but she lived long enough that her brother was able to survive to an appropriate time for delivery (it truly was a miracle; baby A lived without any amniotic fluid the entire time. Had she gone into distress, they would have had to deliver both babies and surely would have lost them both.) Please pray for peace and strength for this family.

There is a lot of stress at the moment in Todd's family, so please pray for guidance for all of them.

My very dear childhood friend has a friend who is very pregnant; her husband just had a heart attack and passed away (at 37 years old.) She already has a four-year-old daughter, so is now dealing with both the grief over losing her husband as well as the impending arrival of her child (and the suddenness of having to raise them alone.)
There is a song we used to sing when I was little. I have to share, because it always comes to me whenever I feel like things are getting out of control:
>I cast all my cares upon You;
I lay all of my burdens down at Your feet,
and anytime I don't know what to do,
I will cast all my cares upon You.

Well, if you've made it this far in the blog, you get a reward! Here's a video of the boys' first bath together (about 3 weeks ago.) Get ready to SMILE!!

Happy Memorial Day!

2008-05-26T19:54:00.004-05:00

Thought I'd quickly share a few pictures of our day. Todd was very busy working on the house all weekend. While he painted today, I brought the boys out and took a few pictures:

Joel (refusing to look at the camera)

Evan (refusing to look at the camera)

Playtime!

And my favorite picture of the day:

BATHTIME!(They LOVE bathtime!)

VOTE FOR EVAN!!!

2008-05-05T07:37:00.006-05:00

VOTING UPDATE: Well, Evan didn't win, but thank you to everyone who voted!

I entered Evan in a "Most Huggable Baby" contest, and he need everyone's vote! (I messed up when I entered Joel, so he isn't in the contest; sad, but at least now all votes can go to one of them!)
Voting is from 5/6 through 5/11. You can vote once per email address per day, and once you vote they send you a link to your email, which you must click to verify the vote (so people don't set up computers to automatically cast votes.) Please vote every day!!

Here is the link to the site:
http://www.wlit.com/cc-common/gallery/display.html?album_id=110957
Click where it says "CLICK HERE to vote". Evan is at the bottom of the E page (he's number 84, I think.) Here is the picture you are looking for:

Enter your email address; it will tell you to check your email to verify your vote.

Please vote!!! Thanks!!!

Thanks for your votes!!

Definitely All Boy!

2008-05-02T16:03:00.005-05:00

Well, the boys have started giving me an idea of what life raising boys is going to be like. They are constantly wrestling with each other! It's pretty funny to see the two of them messing with each other. Well, funny and exhausting, I guess, since I'm always having to pull them apart. I am getting good practice at using their middle names, though. (As in, "JOEL KIERAN, do NOT kick your brother in the head!" and " EVAN MATISSE, you give that paci back to your brother!")

We had a little scare yesterday with a reaction to food. I became over-zealous, I guess, and gave the boys a variety of new foods, so I don't know quite what did it, but I think it was the MacNCheese (they've had instant before; yesterday I decided to make it for them, and it contains milk, which I think brought on the reaction.) Anyway, here's poor Joel:

He actually didn't seem bothered at all, and it went away rather quickly without any intervention. I learned my lesson, though, and will slow down and think more carefully before making new foods for them.

Since I know no one really cares what I have to say (I know you're really just here for the pictures, and I can't blame you!), here's our latest photo shoot in the park (taken yesterday):

Enjoying each other's company:

Joely:

Aww! Happy Babies!

I can hear Evan's voice in my head when I look at this picture. His laugh is the most beautiful sound in the world!

Evan loves Joel!

There is nearly a two-pound difference between them. It's all in the gut, I guess!

Modeling is such EXHAUSTING work.

Our Beautiful, Gorgeous, Amazing Sunny Day!!

2008-04-17T19:54:00.004-05:00

Today was the most beautiful day I have ever seen (since I spent all last summer miserable and indoors)! It was truly perfect weather, and I got to spend it with two fabulous little boys. After a morning playdate with our playgroup, we went for a nice long walk, and the boys got finally got to play for a bit in the yard.
I took lots of pictures, especially of Joel, as he was having a great time playing while Evan was fast asleep in the stroller. Evan's "photo shoot" was short-lived, as he tipped backward and hit his head on the ground. (He's fine, but was not in the mood for me to take pictures!)
Enjoy!

Heading out for our walk:

Joely:

"What is this crazy green stuff?"

I honestly think he could be the happiest child on the planet:

"Okay, Joel, in this next photo, look thoughtful."

And now some photos of why having twins is the coolest thing ever:

Evan enjoyed himself as well, however brief it may have been.

That was our day!

Baby Shrek Has Arrived!

2008-04-10T11:35:00.004-05:00

P.S.

2008-04-01T23:11:00.002-06:00

I know it doesn't really make sense for the p.s. to show up before the other posts, but hey, that's the way it goes...

Pat- Thanks for the words of support on size! I figure they've got plenty of time to grow, and I'm just hoping they get the genes of all the family members besides Todd and I, because most everyone in our families is much better off in the height department than we are!

Julia- I've heard that I was quite the loud baby. I think Todd must have been quieter, and our genes cancelled each other out. So far, Evan and Joel aren't unbearable... so far...

We love to get your comments. It always surprises us to see who all is reading the blog!

So Much To Share photo's cont'd

2008-04-01T22:50:00.004-06:00

Momma and her cubby bear Joel:

Grandpa Adrian and Grandma Linda enjoyed pushing the stroller!

The White Boys... all four of them:

The boys were sick of the camera, but this camel was proud to pose!

Back at Mamaw's house (she was in Texas, so didn't get to see the boys this time).
Family Picture (Sarah and Evan, Todd and Joel)

Something must be really interesting down there...

Brotherly love!

We haven't quite mastered kissing without eating the entire face yet!

Nana and Joel:

Nana and Evan:

Future ladykillers:

Oh, and the latest stats (from today's appointment):

Joel: 25 1/2" tall, 16lb 12oz
Evan: 25 1/2" tall, 15lb 8oz
Still a bit of difference in size!

Some exciting news...
Joel sat up on his own for a few minutes today!!
Evan cut a tooth today! (It's been two months in the making!)

Okay, time to climb into bed. G'night, all!