Happy Father's Day!

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...

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!

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!!!

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!

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!!

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!