Keeping Up With The Boys!

Lilypie

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Pro Photos 4.5 Months

James and Ethan at 4.5 Months
Ethan's feet. We have the same pic of James

James

Daddy and James

Daddy and Ethan

Ethan

James and Ethan

James looking like a little man

James

Ethan

Ethan and his Elephant

James and Ethan

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

I Haven't Posted in So Long

I realize I have not posted in quite awhile. I really need to, because so much has been going on. I have thought about making a post on here, but then I will tell myself, No, I don't want to post so much, when I could seperate so much out and post lots of pictures. Well, I am biting the bullet and posting a giant synopsis of what I missed. I will hopefully go back and post tons of pictures later.

The Boys are now almost 6 months, but I haven't updated in 2 months, so I have so much to say. At 4 months, the boys started getting so much more animated. It has been amazing with how early they are approaching some milestones. Ethan and James both started holding 6 ounce bottles at 4 months. That is a 9 month skill. The boys could both sit unassisted at 4 months. Also, we got some really cute pro pics done. I need to post these online.

At 5 months, both boys have crawled. It is amazing. They aren't fast yet, but they can certainly move. It is amazing, it has definitely put mine and Matt's butts into gear when it comes to babyproofing. We had some bad news this month. I will definitely make a detailed post about this later with some pictures, but Ethan has torticullis and plagiocephaly. This is not something serious, now that we are treating it. Basically, when he was sharing a womb, he had his neck turned awkward, so the muscles are tight on one side, which made head positioning back and forth impossible when he was a infant. We started Physical therapy to stretch those muscles. But, his head is starting to become mis-shapen from his inability to lay with his head facing different directions. He just got his helmet today. He will have to wear this helmet anywear from 3 to 6 months.

The boys turn 6 months old next Wednesday. I can't believe I have had them in my life for almost a half a year. It doesn't seem like it has been that long. It seems like it was yesterday that I first got to hold them in the Recovery Room. We have a lot of fun as a family. Matt and his boys have a bond like none other. I have my own special bond with them, but there are certain times when Daddy is the only thing that can calm our little M&Ms.

The boys have learned to love the Zoo, we have brought them there a couple times. They love the Garden, which we have been to a few times as well. We can take the boys almost anywhere now. They are so well-behaved. The only place they hate is the grocery store. I can't blame them, it is boring. Matt and I are pros at duel-wielding the babies. I barely remember life before I had the boys.

Matt and I are doing good as a couple as well. I love him so much. We have gone out on 2 dates so far. I know 2 dates in 6 months doesn't sound like much, but it meant the world to us. Sure, we hired 2 babysitters for the 1st date, then we spent the whole night worrying about the babies and we didn't enjoy it at all. The 2nd date, we learned from our mistakes. We had 3 babysitters, all young and full of energy. They did a wonderful job. Matt and I got to see Harry Potter and go to Applebees for dinner. I used to hate Applebees, but that night, it tasted like the most amazing gourmet food I'd ever tasted. We get to go out again this Saturday, we lined up the same babysitters from the 2nd date and we got a group of 10 friends to sign up for mouse races. The plan is, we all make food to bring to the event, we sit around, drink free beer, eat tons of snacks, bet on mice, and just chit-chat. I can't wait.

Our new house is wonderful. We actually have an okay yard. We are going to seed again during the fall to thicken it up, but it looks like a home now. We were waiting to get our tax credit from the house to buy curtains, landscaping boxes and a patio set. We bought the curtains and a patio set, then Matt's car died, then the computer died. So that money helped buy us a brand new Honda Civic XL S or LX S, I don't know, but it is pretty. He also got a laptop. We had enough left over for the boxes, then my laptop broke and I needed a computer, then we found out Ethan's Helmet wasn't covered under insurance and would cost $1,500. So that was the last of our fun tax refund. Oh well, I can share Matt's computer, when he isn't looking :).

Anyway, I said this update would be long, but I wanted to tell you what has been going on. I'm sorry it has taken so long. I saw that I have a few e-mails asking where I've been. I could pretend like I was so busy that I just couldn't write, but in all honesty, I've been lazy. Although, I should know better. I love my blog.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Almost 1/3rd Of The Way There

I cannot believe that we are almost 1/3rd of the way to 1 year old. On Thursday, the boys will officially be 4 months old. It just seems so crazy. Time is flying and as they continue to develop their wonderful personalities, time flies even faster.
The boys went on their first trip to the Zoo this past Sunday. They enjoyed some things, but for the most part, they were too little to get really excited. I think in about 4 more months, they will love the zoo and it will be cooler and we also won't have to deal with as many tourists. It is best to visit the Zoo when it is cooler. All the animals are out playing because it isn't 100 degrees outside and the Zoo isn't packed full of spectators.
The boys seemed to really like the monkeys and the bears. The bears were especially cool because there was one bear that was a real show-off. That Grizzly was pacing and bobbing his head. Then the other bear was just lounging in the water. It was really funny. Those Grizzlies had my cubs completely enthralled.
Also, when we left, we got a nice family portrait in front of the seal fountains. Although, I got a picture of just the boys and Matt and I love that picture more. I'm just not happy with my photo being taken yet, and I love having a picture of the 3 most important men in my life, laughing and having a good time.
After the Zoo, Matt and I went to Casa for lunch. There was a much older lady having a birthday party and we got seated right next to them. All their party loved talking to the boys. James was being a total flirt and had them all cracking up. Ethan was also flashing the occasional smile and getting their attention too. I absolutely love it when people say how cute my babies are. Before having children, it was always great to get a compliment, but now, I just revel in people praising my babies. They are smart, cute, and loving little baby bears. Who wouldn't love these guys.
I will add pictures to the blog later tonight.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

More to Love: Screw Off

http://www.fox.com/moretolove/

It hasn't premiered yet, but the previews piss me off so much. You see a bunch of overweight women crying because they can't find love, because they are fat. Then they show a large man and you realize, this is The Bachelor for FAT PEOPLE.
This whole premise just disturbs me. These women don't need to compete for the affection of one big guy and get voted off one by one when they obviously have self esteem issues regarding their weight. As if large women only have this one shot for love and if the big guy doesn't want them, their shot for love is over?
I don't like that it makes it seem like bigger women could only be loved by a fat guy. I think the previews for this show come off so vain, just not in the way we are normally exposed to it. I know they are trying to put up this message that you can find love no matter what size you are, but I really think it broadcasts the message, You can find love, but if you are obese, you better only try to date another obese person. This only intensifies the network television staple, love is completely shallow.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Yesterday was So Rough

Work was super busy, so when I got home, I was thrilled. I have pictures to organize in albums and get put in frames. I had a plan. Well, I get a call from my Mom who asks if I talked to Matt yet? I said "No"
She said that he knows the whole story of why she is really upset. I asked what was wrong, and she dished her story.
My Mom took the boys to Wal-Mart yesterday and she ran into one of her old co-workers who was excited to see the babies. This co-worker was oogling Ethan, and only Ethan. Ethan was eating up the attention and acting quite charming, and this made James upset. He started pushing out the booboo lip and he cried. My Mom was kinda mad at the friend for only paying attention and complimenting the one baby, so when my Mom walked off with the boys, she cuddled James and told him how beautiful he is too.
A bit later in the trip, my 12 year old sister was pushing the boy's stroller and she got a bit ahead of my Mom. My sister was startled when an older man came up behind her and grabbed her arm. My sister screamed and My Mom ran up to her. The man was trying to stop her so he could see the twins. He was there with his wife.
The man pointed at Ethan and said, "Oh, he's the cute one." My Mom and Mads said, "They are both cute." The Man's wife said, "Oh, they are precious little boys." Then the man points at James and said, "That is a girl." My Mom said "No, He's a boy." The man, still pointing said, "Why doesn't that one have hair?" My Mom pushed Mads to keep walking and they just left. My sister was upset and started crying, aside from feeling like James was insulted, when the man grabbed her arm, she was frightened. She said she thought that someone was trying to abduct her and the boys. The whole trip was so upsetting.
My Mom told me that when the boys get home, give James a little extra love. It is so hard having twins. When one baby has a rough day, you want to give him all the extra love and attention to make up for it, but all that extra love comes at the cost of not spending equal time with your other baby. Having twins this age is so difficult, you are constantly monitoring yourself to make sure you don't accidentally play favorites. I love my boys the same, I'd give anything for either of them. And I'd give anything for an extra set of arms so I could hold both my babies at the same time and love on them simultaneously (without annoying them with the split attention). I hope when they get older and they can play more with each other, it will be easier to spend time with the 2 of them instead of one at a time.
After talking to my Mom, Matt called me. I started to tell him that I had just talked to my Mom, when he said, "Call her back and tell her to come get the boys." I was stunned. I just said "What?" He said, I was rearended and the boys are hysterical." Just then, his phone dies.
So all I know at this point was that the 3 most important people in my life were in a car accident and that the boys were crying hysterically. Matt's phone was going straight to Voicemail, so I called my Mom and told her to go get the boys, but I couldn't tell her where he was, just to follow his route home.
I was a nervous wreck. I started bawling. I was worried about the boys, about Matt, about the car, about the carseats. I was rearended when I was 6 weeks pregnant in that car. That car was good as new and now it has been in 2 accidents, and both technically had my precious babies in the car.
I got a call a little bit later from my Dad who got to them first. He told me everything was okay and everyone was alright. I found out that an F250 wasn't paying attention and while my husband was waiting to merge right onto the highway, the truck slammed into the back of them.
Matt said the driver is young, only about 18. Matt said he thinks he was a kid driving his Dad's truck. He slammed his F250 into our little Cobalt. Matt had called the cops before he called me and 911 said they would send someone. After 20 minutes of waiting, the cops called and said they would not be coming and to just exchange information. I did not like that at all. Why do we pay taxes if the police can't help us in our time of need?
Anyway, the guy had liability only on a newer $40,000 truck. I think that seems kinda weird. And the insurance company was one I never heard of, but it was valid, we made sure to check.
So everyone was okay, thank God! The boys were in hysterics because they were napping when the car was hit. It scared them pretty bad, but after a few minutes, they had calmed down and went to sleep.
So that night, I wanted to cuddle James extra because of the Wal-Mart incident, but my heart strings were pulling me to Ethan too. Both my babies had a traumatic day. They were both in their first car accident since being out of the womb.
Oh, and the car is drivable, but I hate dealing with insurance. I know it was an accident, but this is such horrible timing for us. We are still waiting for our tax refund that the IRS lost and we have had tons of medical bills to pay off from having the boys. I don't want to have to pay our deductible and wait for Young insurance company to reimburse us. We are purging money and the over $8,000 the government owes us is taking months to get. They lost our first refund papers. This has been ridiculous.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Lady Gaga: Ga, Ga, Ga, Got Your Nose!

I play "Got Your Nose" with the boys a lot. They always love it when I just tap on the end of their nose. Last night while watching SYTYCD, I was playing with the boys and I hear "Pokerface" playing in the background. I don't love the song, but I've heard it a million times. While I was tapping their noses, I came up with something downright goofy and brilliant. So as I tap a nose, the words came so natural, "I,P,P, Poked your face, Ma,Ma, Poked your face." They think I'm hilarious! Heck, I am hilarious!
And Matt rolls his eyes at my jokes and says, "Oh Mandy."

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Too Cool For School

I was at Walgreens picking up some prints and they had the cutest little sunglasses. Only to my surprise, they are not just cute on my boys, they are Super-Cool! I love the little spidey shades!
James
Ethan