upset

Last night was Mike's family's Christmas party.  Beginning and middle were not good with the boys, but we ended on a good note - phew!  At first I seriously did not know how we were going to make it through the evening.  Both were cranky and then Caleb became absolutely inconsolable.  I was almost in tears myself because I have never had a totally inconsolable child before and I just did not know what to do!  He wasn't tired, he wasn't hungry, he didn't have a dirty diaper, he didn't want to play, he didn't want to be held...  I ended up taking his shirt off and then he calmed down - maybe he was hot??  He didn't feel too warm to me, but who knows.  He was happy the rest of the night!

(I must say, I think I'm finding two toddlers to be much more taxing than two babies...)

Want a frustrating experience?  Try to find shoes for infant or toddler boys!  Ugh.  There are SOOOO many choices for girls, and practically nothing for boys!  If/when we have another child it would certainly be fun to have a girl, but of course the practical side of me looks at how many boys clothes we have...with a singleton boy I should never have to do laundry!!  :)

Today is the only day this week that Mike has to be in at work.  It's been very nice having him home so much - many hands make light work!  :)  (He just called that he's on his way home, so a nice short day!)

Just within the last couple weeks or so the boys have become really interested in looking at books.  They'll actually sit and look at a book quietly for awhile.  It has especially come in handy when changing diapers - for quite some time it's been a challenge to keep their hands out of the way (ahem) and even giving them a toy wouldn't distract enough.  But now, they'll just lay there and look at a book!  Wonderful!

One more Christmas party tonight and then tomorrow it's off to Chicago for Mike's stepbrother's wedding.  I'm ready for things to slow down a bit!

laugh

How do you keep a straight face when disciplining your children??  I suppose when they get older things will be a little more serious and I won't have such a hard time with laughing, but sometimes now I just crack up!  Today the four of us were all playing together and Caleb started to slap me in the face, of course it didn't really hurt, but it's not something he should be doing - Mike was telling him to be nice and not hit, and for some reason it struck my funny bone.  I was trying so hard to keep a straight face so I didn't encourage that behavior, but I wasn't very successful.  Oh, and just so Caleb doesn't look like the 'bad one', Logan started hitting, too.

Both Caleb and Logan have a few teeth coming in.  They won't let me get a good look, but I think Caleb has three coming, and Logan two.  I finally worked up the nerve to give Logan a bit of a haircut today - I've been so worried about messing it up or just how to manage the logistics of getting a one-year-old to sit still.  But, there were no accidents with the scissors, and I don't think it looks too bad!  Both boys walk pretty much all the time now - it seems so strange to see them walk down the hall to their bedroom, or come around the corner into the dining room.  Caleb's eye cleared up on it's own, out of the blue - woohoo! 

It's still been an adjustment skipping morning naptime.  Actually, I think it's been just as hard for me!  Seems like a fairly long day and I'm definitely ready for naptime when it comes.  :)

fun

We had a fun playdate this morning.  It was with my twin/triplet mom's group (we actually call our group Two (or More) at a Time, so we don't exclude those who've been blessed with more...).  Of course, that makes for alot of kids, so we met at a gym instead of someone's house.  :)  I think there were 10 moms, 10 sets of twins, 1 set of triplets, and a few older siblings.  Crazy!!  It took the boys just a bit to warm up, but then they played pretty good.  Snack time was a bit challenging for me, the boys don't know yet not to grab other kids' food, and they don't just sit nice to eat what I give them either - most of the twins there are 6 months or more older than Caleb and Logan and they did good, so I'm hoping with a little more maturity the boys will do better.  :)  So anyways, it was a little hard to keep the two of them under control during that time.  But, overall we had fun and it was worth the trip out of the house!

appt

The boys finally had their 12 month check-up today.  No big surprises - Caleb is 31.25" long (75th percentile) and 21lb 11oz (25th percentile); and Logan is 28.5" long (10th percentile) and 19lb 6oz (5th percentile). 

I felt like we terrorized the exam room - how in the world are you supposed to keep two one-year-olds occupied in a tiny room with all sorts of things to get into??  Was pretty funny to watch them walking around in their diapers though, and right after I made a comment about them looking like little sumo wrestlers, they walked right up to each other and hit their stomachs.  The nurse enjoyed that.  Thankfully we didn't have to wait long for the doctor, and he's got a couple drawers that he lets kids play in, so that helped. 

We'll be going to a pediatric eye doctor for Caleb's eye.  Hope we don't have to wait too long for that!  It doesn't seem to bother him at all, but I'm getting a little tired of his red, goopy eye.  :)  Caleb's okay to switch to whole milk now, yay!

The doctor wasn't really concerned with Logan's size - we're still headed in the right direction, he's just small.  He said we could still give him formula to get more calories in him, so I'll probably just finish up with what I've got in stock. 

They did have to get two shots today.  Poor guys!  They didn't do too bad though.  Hope they don't get sick from them or anything, we've got a big playdate tomorrow that I don't want to miss out on!  :)

day

Just out of curiosity, I took a look at my feeding journal to see what this day was like one year ago....yikes!  I'm glad that didn't last long.  :)  The boys ate at 3am, 6:15am, 9am, 12pm, 2pm, 4:30pm, 7:45pm, and 9:45pm; there were 11 wet & dirty diapers and 6 just wet diapers.

Yesterday morning I stayed home from church with Caleb because of his eye.  We don't think it's contagious, but everyone notices it and we didn't want people thinking we were sticking our kid in nursery with pink eye.  He didn't seem to mind being an only child for the morning, but a friend of ours who was in nursery said Logan was lost without Caleb!  I guess he even just laid on the floor facedown for awhile - my poor baby!  We did all go to church last night - we were really wanting to go as a family for once, and we figured there aren't near as many kids in the nursery at night and we could just explain that we don't think Caleb's eye is contagious (btw - we are going to the doctor again, hopefully we get this figured out).  We went to a friends house afterwards - they have a two-year-old that is pretty attached to Logan.  :) 

nap

This is our second day skipping morning nap.  This is happening a little sooner than what I would have chosen, but the boys just were hardly sleeping in the morning anymore.  It does seem to make 8am - 2pm a marathon stretch, but on the bright side, it's not so hard to squeeze stuff in between naps and feedings.  Although, it's getting harder to go out and I've pretty much decided to stay in this winter...

Saturday evening Mike and I went out on a date.  It was wonderful!  We haven't done that in so long.  We've been out without the kids plenty, but it's never for the two of us to go out by ourselves on a date.  We went to the Piper in Holland for dinner.  Yum!  And then, the super romantic part, we went to Meijer for dog food!  I guess time out without the kids still has to be somewhat practical.  :)  Had the weather been nicer we would have gone for a walk around downtown Holland or something, but it was cold and rainy so we made it home in time to put the kids to bed ourselves.

Caleb and Logan continue to walk more and more.  They can pretty much walk as much as they want to now.  Looks like I've got two little Frankenstein's toddling around.  :)  They are really into copying, it's so much fun.  Now that we use a gate to keep them in the playroom, they can play with the door.  Caleb especially loves to always shut the door, but then he gets frustrated that he can't get it open again...  And, of course two toddlers and a door means all sorts of accidents can happen - last night Logan shut the door on Caleb's arm, he's got a pretty good bruise today.  It's on my shopping list to find a door stop.  :)  Just watching them play now and seeing what they can do really makes me wonder what things will be like in a few years...yikes!!

day

Had a day full of activity yesterday!  And, because I'm just like my dad I have to go through it beginning to end...  :)

Had a repairman coming to fix the garage door first thing in the morning (finally!) so Mike was going in a little bit later to work.  Mike's boss called and said he didn't need to come in at all (yay!).  After the repairman left Mike still went in to work just for a bit to do some clean-up or something (I know, crazy.), then he went to my parents to get the tractor for snowplowing.  While he was gone my sister-in-law dropped off my niece and nephew to spend the morning with us (4 kids!).  Mike came home, then my dad came to get him to bring him back to their place to get his truck, of course he had to come in for coffee and a snack.  :)  Mike came back.  FedEx truck came (parked at the end of the driveway - strange), first thought maybe it was our new tv, but it was a photo order I had coming, plus someone else's big order of canvases so now I've got to deal with that.  FedEx truck left, not two minutes later FedEx van pulls in (all the way up the driveway), and this time it IS our new tv!  Mike gets a call that he has to go into work for a little bit (boo).  He goes in and then gets a call that there are cattle out at my dad's and my dad can't get there, so Mike and neighbor guy deal with it (what a nice guy).  My brother and parents come to pick up my niece and nephew on their way to Ohio for a wedding.  In the midst of a whole bunch going on, my dad's trying to tell me details about the cows getting out - I really have no idea what he said. :)  Peace and quiet for a little bit!  Mike gets home after the boys are down for afternoon nap, I still have time to go out and run some errands before suppertime (which was my plan as soon as I knew he had the day off, so when he got called in I was super bummed...).  I made 8 stops and got lots done!  One stop was Target to buy forumla - hopefully our last purchase of it...  Anyways, someone had put a couple formula coupons on the shelf by the formula, how nice is that?  Just one of those little bright spots.  Had a nice relaxing evening with my fam, well, other than fiddling with the tv a bit so we could watch a movie. 

random

A few random things I don't remember if I've mentioned previously...  We have two pack-n-plays set up in the house on the main floor at all times.  REALLY comes in handy.  The boys get a chance to play alone without someone else grabbing at them and their toys, it's an easy place to quick set someone down when you need them contained, and we've been using one to block the playroom door.  During playtime it's easiest if everyone just stays in the playroom, and it's much nicer to pull the pack-n-play in front of the door rather than having to shut the door.  Well, last week they figured out how to move the pack-n-play and escape.  Time to put a gate up!

Last week my parents had a big Christmas dinner at their house for a group from their church.  We helped them set up tables and chairs.  My dad's back has been bothering him so it was Mike and I doing the heavy lifting, and my mom had to tell us what she wanted.  We didn't have a pack-n-play with us, so the boys needed supervision...so, of course, that means my dad got that job!  For those of you who don't know him, this is a very interesting situation indeed.  A couple times I heard him say, "I don't know how you do this all day!"  I was cracking up! 

Caleb apparently has conjunctivitis.  His eye has been bad for the past week, and we thought it was just the blocked tear duct thing he had trouble with early on.  Went to the doctor today (this was our first time going in for a 'sick' visit!) - soooo glad work is flexible for Mike and he could go with me.  We've got drops to put in his eye 4x a day, this should be fun.  Whenever I try to clean his eye, wipe his nose, anything like that, he acts like I'm the meanest mom in the world and I'm just torturing him. 

old

Last Friday night we had our first 'real' babysitter - all I mean by that is someone we paid and wasn't family or close friend, any of you who have watched are children in the past are definitely real!  :)  She's a high school senior that I actually babysat a couple times when she was a baby - I do not feel old enough to have someone that I babysat now babysitting my kids!!  And, it felt really weird to me when I was giving her instructions before we left, really made me feel like an old mom.  :)  Anyways, even though I was confident in her abilities, I have to admit that I was a little nervous about it all.  But, things must have gone great - when we got home the boys were quietly sleeping, the house was picked up, dishes washed, and she was sitting at the table doing homework.  I'm pretty sure I would have been watching tv!

Kinda funny, Logan took his own shirt off yesterday.  The boys were both dressed and ready for church, and we had them each in a pack-n-play while we got ready.  A few minutes later we found Logan's shirt on the floor!  So, somehow he got it off and threw it out.  Silly boy.

This morning Mike and I had an appointment with a financial guy (I guess I'm not sure what he's technically called, we just wanted to take care of our 401k's from our old jobs).  Anyways, we haven't been to him before and didn't know him at all.  He's a good Dutch guy that has triplets!  Pretty neat.

This afternoon my mom and I went to Lakeshore Pregnancy Center to deliver baskets my family had put together, and got a tour of the facility.  Very nice!  I actually like their set-up for ultrasounds better than what they have at the hospital.  :)  They have a tv hooked up so it's easier for the mother and whoever's with her to see the images.

It is 3:45pm, the boys 'should' be tired, but they are wide awake....hmmmm...

summary

Here's where things are at with my 1-year-olds...

Caleb has four teeth, and just this afternoon I thought maybe I saw another coming, but I'm not sure.  He can take several steps, but crawling is still the main mode of transportation.  He can go around like nobody's business with the walker.  He can clap on command (note: 'can', not necessarily 'will').  He loves to point at anything.  It seems like he says "mama" sometimes and maybe "da" when he's referring to myself and Mike, but we're not totally sure if it's legit yet.  I don't know what weights are now, but Caleb is definitely heavier than Logan.

Logan has three teeth, and I think the other front top one might be close to coming.  He can take several steps as well, but mostly crawls.  He's a little bit more of a snuggler than his brother, but neither one really will cuddle much.  He can clap on command, and when you ask what a tractor does he usually responds correctly now.  He has a special sparkle in his eyes when he smiles.

They both get excited when they see the dogs.  They also get excited when they see Daddy come home from work.  :)  I love it when I've been gone and when I come back they rush to see me.  It seems like somebody flipped a switch and all of the sudden I've gone from having two babies to two toddlers - they seem older and more grown up!

activities

Life has been busy busy for the past week, and it shows no signs of slowing down!  Hope I can keep up this pace for a little while.

Last Wednesday night we went to our church's Thanksgiving Eve potluck and service.  I hadn't been too sure I wanted to go to the potluck and try to manage that with two babies, but the food was too tempting and I couldn't resist.  The only major mishap was when Caleb yanked on the table runner, which made a drink tip over onto a girl a couple seats down.  She was very nice about it.  :)  We weren't able to stay for the whole service since it ran into the boys' bedtime. 

Thursday morning my whole family was hoping for our first annual turkey trot, but the weather didn't cooperate.  A couple runners still went out, but it was too yucky out to go for a walk with the whole fam.  We did visit for just a bit in the morning with my sister and her family who were in from out of town.  We had a delicious dinner with Mike's family, headed home for naptime, then went back out for a party with Mike's dad's side of the family.  I found it interesting to watch Caleb and Logan during this party.  Mike and I were playing volleyball with his cousins while the grandmas watched their grandkids.  Caleb very persistently kept trying to get over by us - at one point Mike stopped to talk to him real quick and when he turned to get back to the game, Caleb was SO upset!  Logan mostly just sat and played with a toy by himself.  I'm not totally sure if that's just his personality, or if it was also because he's been a little under the weather.

Friday we spent most of the day just getting ready for the big party!  We had 40 people here to celebrate Caleb and Logan's first birthday!  Unfortunately, this isn't a time of year where we can do much outdoors, so that meant we had to fit everyone inside.  Mike cleaned the garage and borrowed a heater so some could be out there - most of our nieces and nephews ended up eating out there and I think it worked really nice.  Helped keep some of the noise out of the house.  :)  And, it looked like they all got along really well - some of the overheard conversations were pretty interesting, and they even broke into song at one point.  Caleb and Logan didn't get into the cake too much - they tried some, and did manage to get it all over their face and in their hair, but I don't think they actually ate too much.  Actually, Caleb ended up gagging on his and I had a little extra mess to clean up.  Present time was, shall I say, interesting.  I never knew it was so exciting for kids to watch other kids open up presents!  As if it wasn't crowded in the house already, our nieces and nephews were totally swarming us while we opened presents.  It was fun to see them having fun with it all.  :)  Caleb and Logan did get to enjoy some of their presents right away - they got so many neat toys.  I think the whole evening and having so many people in the house was a little overwhelming for them - they seemed a little cranky.  But, after things quieted down they were fine, and now they've been having fun playing with their new toys.

Saturday was my family's Christmas party.  We had our traditional Christmas breakfast - although for the sake of everyone's sanity it's now at brunch time rather than breakfast time.  After breakfast there was a grapefruit eating contest, and I'm proud to report that my honey won!  Of course we followed our other traditions - story time, prayer, singing, family photo, and presents.  We also put together baskets for Lakeshore Pregnancy Center, which I am so excited about.  This was Mike and I's year to choose a charity and we chose to have everyone buy different baby items to put together baskets for Lakeshore Pregnancy Center.  We did a girl basket and a boy basket - there's lots of cute stuff!  That evening we had a yummy steak dinner.

Sunday was one last meal with my family before my sister and her family left to go back home Monday morning.  We probably won't see them again until the summer!  :(

Yesterday was Caleb and Logan's birthday.  Mike took the day off of work and we drove to the outlets in Howell to do a little shopping.  And in the evening we went to the Christmas parade in Zeeland.  It was so nice!  It was a beautiful night and so fun to see all the lights.

Got up early to spin this morning, and no time to rest today...or tomorrow...maybe Thursday, but certainly not Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or next Monday....  Phew!

thankful

Well, I wanted to write this post on Thanksgiving Day, but we've had nonstop activities for several days now, so I haven't had a chance.  But, I'm thankful every day of the year, so it really doesn't matter that I express it on a certain day.  :)

First and foremost, I'm thankful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for saving me.  And really, everything I'm about to list that I'm thankful for is all due to Him - He has blessed me beyond measure.  I'm thankful for growing up in a Christian family, and I'm very grateful that Mike also grew up in a Christian family - we have several great examples to learn from.

I'm thankful for my godly, intelligent, hard working, funny, loyal, supportive, and loving husband.  Even after 6 1/2 years of marriage I can marvel at how perfect we are for each other.  He is an awesome husband, and incredible father to our children.  I really don't think I could have survived this past year with a husband that doesn't want to be as involved in his children's lives.  I know parenting in general is best done as a team effort, but that's even more necessary with twins!

I am so very thankful for our children.  This first year has been amazing.  Yes, there have been plenty of challenges - all the first time parenting stuff plus the extra work of caring for two babies, but it's been so much fun to watch Caleb and Logan grow and develop.  I'm thankful that I had such a great pregnancy and that the boys were born healthy - many multiple pregnancies are more of a struggle and the babies have a rough start.

I am thankful for our material blessings.  A house to live in, food to eat, clothes to wear, cars to drive, and so much more.  We have so much more than many people in the world, and I hope that I don't lose sight of that, and that I do my best to share God's love, and help others.  It's so easy to compare ourselves to those that have more than us and become dissatisfied with what we have.  A couple Sunday's ago, our preacher shared this prayer of confession, and it really struck a chord with me:

Gracious God, like many believers before us,

we complain when things do not go our way.

We want abundance of everything,

rather than what is sufficient to sustain us.

We would rather be elsewhere than

where we are at the moment.

We would rather have the gifts You give to others

than what you provide for us.

We would rather have You serve us,

than serve you.

Forgive our lack of gratitude for what You give.  Amen

I could keep going, but I think I'll stop here.  :)  I hope if you take a few moments to stop and think that you'll become overwhelmed with all that you have to be thankful for.

one

I have SO much catching up to do on the blog, but it's not going to happen tonight.  But, I just had to post something today since it's my babies' first birthday!  I CANNOT believe it!  Time has just flown by.  This past year has certainly held lots of challenges, but it's been absolutely wonderful as well.  Mike and I will talk sometimes about how we feel like we're just going to burst because we love our boys so much.  :)  Well, hopefully this week I can do some catching up on the blog, but our schedule is still pretty packed, so we'll see...

This is the boys today.

time

One year ago today I walked out of the doctor's office crying because he wanted me to stay pregnant for a few more days.  :)  Certainly I'm very thankful that our boys were not born too early and were fully developed and healthy, but being 37 weeks pregnant with two full size babies is not the most comfortable place to be and I was ready to meet them!

lots

I feel like we've had lots going on, yet I can hardly think of what to write about!  Maybe once I get started it'll just keep coming...

Last week we had a playdate with another twin mom and her boys.  They'll be two in February - our boys didn't really play together so much, but at one point when Caleb and Logan were crawling around, her boys copied them and were crawling around too, pretty cute to see the four of them!  She had two car seats that we're borrowing (huge blessing).

Twice now I've gone to an early morning spin class with my sister-in-law.  Yikes.  What a work-out!  And, at 6am...double yikes!  :)  Other than losing out on some sleep, that time works out good for me because I can get back home before Mike has to go to work (at least this time of year...). 

Thursday evening we had dinner with another couple from our church at our interim pastor's house.  The food was great (and, of course, it was nice to sit down to a dinner that I didn't cook and could eat in peace), and it was nice to get to know the pastor and his wife better.  We feel blessed to have them at our church while we look for someone permanent.  Our next door neighbors came over to babysit Caleb and Logan.  :) 

Saturday Mike went with one of his brothers, his stepdad, and his stepbrothers to a U of M football game.  I know, watching sports isn't exactly his thing, but being social is.  :)  Actually, he always enjoys it if he gets to actually be at a sporting event, he's just not into watching sports on tv and following what's going on (thank goodness).  I guess he and his brother had pretty good seats - 2nd row on one of the endzones - maybe I should have watched the game to try and see him??  I don't have that kind of patience!  That evening since the guys were gone we had a girls night and went out for supper with the kids.  It went okay, but I say if they go next year we get babysitters for the kids!  :)

The boys are sick, so we took turns going to church yesterday.  I went in the morning, and Mike went at night.  A few nights ago Caleb had a fever, and has been congested.  Logan is running a temp and is also congested.  At one point Mike said something about Logan not handling being sick quite as well as Caleb, so I said, "So he takes after you, and Caleb takes after me?"  Ha ha!  Anyways, Logan has been throwing-up at mealtime quite a bit, and I think it's the congestion and coughing.  He gets coughing, gags, throws up.  I REALLY hope they're better by this weekend!

Some big news over here: we've decided to cloth diaper.  We're not fully transitioned yet, but have been trying it out a little and all I can say is, "Why did we not do this sooner??"  I just really didn't even consider it before, and I wish I would have.  It is SO much better than it was several years ago.  The main motivator for us is that it will save us alot of money over using disposables, but it is also much better for the environment.  We're not treehuggers or anything, but it doesn't hurt to be good stewards of God's creation.  :)  Also, I know several other moms of multiples that CD and love it, so we're not totally crazy for making the switch.  And, I gotta say that since I change a majority of the diapers and I do most of the shopping it was me who got this ball rolling, but Mike does change plenty of diapers and he's totally on board with it.  Unless he's really faking it (which he's generally not good at), he's going along willingly, not dragging his heels.  :)

So, awhile back I think I posted that Caleb knew what 'clap' meant without us showing him.  A few times now we've tried to get him to do it for people, and he won't perform - little stinker.  (Although, he LOVES to show off by tearing around with the walker.)  I think it was yesterday we were asking him to clap, and Logan did it!  And, he did it for me again today.  So, he knows!

walk

Caleb definitely walked tonight, and it was the coolest timing ever!  Mike was gone all day today, and got home around 7:30pm.  He came in, his brother and stepdad were also there, I set Caleb down and he took 15+ steps all the way to Mike!  Pretty exciting.  :)

A little bit later I did manage to get a clip of Caleb walking, but it doesn't have a very happy ending.  He didn't have a very good landing, and ended up with a little bloody nose.  :(  There are alot of reasons it's nice to have hardwood floors with little kids, but I guess it's not so nice for when they're learning to walk!


Logan has taken a few more steps than what's shown here, but this is what I have managed to catch on camera.

bucket head

Logan likes to crawl around with a bucket on his head.

smart

We discovered the other day that Caleb knows what clap means.  We were watching a video clip on my phone of me telling him to clap a couple months ago, and while watching it he started clapping.  And, we've tested it several times now, if we just say 'clap' and not show him, he'll do it!  So fun to watch them learning and developing.

Caleb also loves to point.  It's hard to tell sometimes if he's really pointing at something, or if he just likes sticking his finger out.

We really enjoy watching them play together.  Once they started rolling around we really didn't trust them in the same pack-n-play together, but now they can play very nicely together.  It's fun when they're in a pack-n-play together and we're in another room and can hear them giggling. 

cheer

We can't get Logan to clap or anything much, it's just not his thing I guess.  But here's a clip of one of the first times I think he technically did it.  I've got another cute video of him I've been trying to upload, but am having some problems...

pitcher

Logan loves to play with balls.  He quite consistenly throws them backwards - I suppose we'll have to work on that.

steps

So, Monday night both Caleb and Logan took two steps!  I missed Caleb's, but I think when Logan did it I probably scared him at how excited I was.  :)  And, last night Caleb took 5-7 steps.  It gets a little hard to count when they're such small steps kinda shuffling forward, but he was definitely moving his feet and going foward.

time

Still waiting to see if we can get back to our normal schedule after the time change.  Yesterday wasn't too bad because we have to get the boys up early for church anyways, but today they did wake up a little earlier than what I would like.  We'll see what happens tomorrow!

So, both boys have taken a step, but no more.  We'll keep working on it!  They keep crawling on all fours more and more often, but do still do their army crawl sometimes.  One of Logan's top teeth finally popped through last week.  Caleb still just has the front four - I haven't noticed any others coming.  This morning I was changing Logan's diaper and he peed on the wall!  That hasn't happened in MONTHS - since they were newborns!  Totally took me off guard.  And of course, at the same time Caleb was getting into the box of garbage bags that we use for the diaper pail - I was feeling slightly frazzled at that moment.  I think if the phone had started ringing that would have put me over the edge.  :)

Yesterday Mike was feeding the boys and I wasn't in the room.  I came in, Caleb looked at me, and said, "ma-ma".  I'm doubting it was the real thing, but it was pretty cool.  We feel like he's been close to identifying Mike as "da-da" too, but not quite there.  He makes that sound alot (usually when he's excited about something), not just when Mike's there.  And, Logan makes the "ma-ma-ma" sound alot (usually when he's being fussy).

funny faces

My little comedians.

small world

Last night we were playing with the boys when we heard a knock at the door.  It was an older man who had hit a deer and needed to use our phone (btw - someone had hit a deer in front of our house the morning before as well, Mike heard the thump and then a cop came).  He said is name was Wittigan and my ears perked up.  Long story short, he worked at the Vriesland Co-op for several years, and of course knows my dad, grandpa, uncles...  And, he's Johnny Wittigan's brother, who, among many other connections, is grandpa to the guy Mike works with at Schreur's.

After we chatted for a minute we told him to have his wife come in since we didn't know how long it would be before the cop and wrecker came.  She was pretty upset about it.  And, apparently something had recently happened that she had a couple minor injuries from - we had trouble understanding the story, but basically I think she had a fall, she has a busted lip and wrist.  We didn't get to talk long as the cop came surprisingly fast.

I must say, there's just something about living in a community where you have roots.

ride

Oh, the cuteness.

ball

I FINALLY found a new ball for Sadie!  She is very particular - if she doesn't like the ball, she just won't go get it and bring it back when you throw it.  Years ago we got started with "Buddy Glow Ball" - she loved it.  I think Brandy was even still doing a little fetching at the time.  The other good thing about it was that it couldn't be destroyed right away either - tennis balls don't last long around here.  Anyways, something happened to Buddy Glow Ball and we tried a different kind of ball.  No go.  Eventually I found something very similar and that was a success.  Of course, things happen around here - balls get lost in the snow, out in the hay field, etc.  When I can, I buy a couple balls at the same time.  Anyways, earlier this summer the one ball we had left accidentally got hit by the mower, and I could not find a replacement!  It's not a whole lot of fun to throw a chopped up ball.  Last weekend I found a couple balls and Sadie is loving it.

Macy is something else.  Deafer than a doornail, and hair unkempt (that's our fault).  She has stayed outside in the kennel with Sadie since soon after the boys were born, and at first she begged to come in, but now we have to drag her in the house.  She thinks she's coming in to have her ears cleaned, which she hates, but we've been having her clean up the floor after the boys eat.  That works out pretty nice!

Apparently Logan took a step last night without hanging onto anything - and I missed it!  I was upstairs and I heard Mike, I couldn't believe it.  I guess Logan was going from Mike to the pack-n-play and he let go of Mike and took a step to the pack-n-play.  So, I'll be working with him today to try and get him to do it for me.  :)

stroll

Caleb's just going for a stroll around the room. Notice Logan is *helping* me fold some laundry...

teamwork

I love watching them do this together. Caleb's a little more possessive of the walker now though, and doesn't really appreciate it when his brother tries to join in.

funny

Logan had a case of the giggles last week. Hope you don't get motion sickness watching this, I was trying to keep him laughing... :)

turn

Tuesday night Caleb learned how to turn while using the walker - this is a pretty big deal!  Now, instead of getting stuck against the couch, the wall, etc. he can turn and keep going all by himself.  Yesterday he spent alot of time just walking around and around, he loves the walker.  Last night at my mom's, he pushed Logan around on a little scooter - it was SOOOOO cute.  I got a clip of it that I'll have to post later.

forgot

Yesterday I forgot to mention Logan's minor injury.  My poor baby.  The other day he was 'walking' in between an end table and exersaucer, and fell down.  I thought he only hit his head on the exersaucer, but he must have bumped his mouth on the end table, too.  There was a decent amount of blood and it took him a good 10 minutes to calm down.  And thankfully, Caleb was a good little boy while I comforted his brother.  :)

what's up

I've been dealing with throw-up more frequently than I would prefer.  Seems like Caleb gags pretty easily, and once he gags it's all over (literally).  I've learned that if he's chewing on a cheerio or something more solid like that, not to try and give him a spoonful of baby food/cereal/yogurt - don't proceed until the mouth is empty!  We also had a leaf eating incident last week that resulted in him throwing up.  Logan has done the gag/throw-up thing now a couple times, too (on his cereal, which he's been eating for months!).  Of course, the first time he did it was RIGHT when Mike's stepbrother and his fiance were stopping over for a visit (Hi, Steve & Erin, I know you're reading this!  :). 

I'm also having trouble keeping up with the boys' clothes!  Between season changes and them growing faster than they ever have so far, it feels like we're going through clothes like crazy.  I'm sad that there are some things that they've never even gotten to wear!  And of course, when Steve and Erin were here the boys were in mismatched clothes that were too small for them.  Maybe I'll be a little more on top of things when we see them at Christmas.  :)

Back to the leaf eating incident.  I think it must have been Thursday.  Had some time to kill before naptime, the leaves were looking really cool in our yard, and I figured every good parent takes photos of their kids in the leaves, right?  Well, it's not the brightest idea to try and do it by yourself with two 11-month-olds.  Logan did pretty good, but Caleb was more interested in crawling around and eating leaves.  It would have been nice if Caleb had decided to just get the leaf throwing up over with right away, but he waited until we were upstairs getting ready for naptime.  He was in his crib and I was changing Logan's diaper.  I looked over and saw Caleb starting to gag.  I grabbed the only thing I could to try and catch it (his sleep bag thingie) and prevent it from hitting the carpet.  Oh what fun.

Friday evening we had a fun event with our class from church.  Soup & Pie Night - everyone brings either a soup or pie, and we end up with lots of good food to eat!  Alot of people came and it got kinda crazy with all the kids!  Thankfully the couple whose house it was at have a nice big basement for them all to run around.  I enjoyed watching the boys play in a different environment than at home.

Speaking of which, at home it seems like they stick together alot.  I don't usually have to deal with them heading in opposite directions, they follow each other around and get into trouble together.  :)  The church nursery workers on Sunday told us the same thing - they went all over the room and played with lots of different toys, but they did it all together!  It's pretty sweet.  I love watching how they interact with each other - they 'talk' to each other, copy what the other is doing, etc. 

Yesterday afternoon I had a senior photo session.  We started out here getting some indoor shots and then out in the leaves - I did not have a problem with her eating the leaves...  :)  And then we went to downtown GR, it was alot of fun!  The boys missed me though.  :)  Mike said that at one point they were playing fine and then Logan just looked around and then started crying.  When I got home they were very happy to see me, and when we were feeding their bottles Mike had Logan and he just wouldn't settle down, he kept fussing and looking at me.  So, I took him and then he was fine.  My sweet little momma's boy!  I'll enjoy it before he grows out of it.

round of applause

Caleb loves to clap. 

fun stuff

The other day Mike was sitting with both boys.  I guess they decided to look at one of my photography magazines - on the cover was a pretty bride.  Logan leaned down and kissed her on the lips!  And, knowing him, it wasn't a closed mouth kiss either.

Caleb has stood on his own for several seconds a few times now too.  I kinda tricked him - generally if I clap he can't resist clapping along, so when he was standing by the couch I clapped, he started clapping too, and next thing you know he was standing there clapping for several seconds!

Saturday I went to a baby shower for a friend.  She's having a baby boy and he'll be almost exactly 1 year younger than Caleb and Logan.  This was one of those times where I caught myself thinking in "two's" - forgetting that most people have just one baby at a time!  As she was opening her gifts it just felt really strange to me to see one of everything.

I stayed home with my three sick boys yesterday.  Mike was still pretty miserable with his poison ivy, and Caleb and Logan were snottier than what we thought should be in nursery at church.  We did get out for a walk in the afternoon and enjoy the beautiful weather.  We checked out the Upper Macatawa Natural Area - it was really neat!  Definitely will have to go there more often.  If I was really on top of things I'd add one of the pics I took, but I didn't get them off my camera yet, I'd have to go downstairs and get it, the boys are starting to wake up (early!), and I've got other things to do!

peace & quiet

Sadly, this actually IS somewhat tame compared to other times...

stand by me

Logan is doing especially well with standing on his own.  Yesterday he stood with his back to the wall and not hanging onto anything.  Today he gave several attempts to standing completely unassisted - he lasted almost 10 seconds!  And he was so proud of himself too, I love to see how excited they get when they do something.  Caleb has done a few seconds here and there, too.

Caleb waved yesterday!  There's been a few times over the last couple weeks that I thought maybe he had waved, but this was definitely it.  He waved to Chuck, a stranger in Costco.  :)  This guy was saying 'hi' and waving to the boys from a little ways down the aisle, and Caleb waved right back.  I got all excited and then the guy realized that was Caleb's first wave - I think he thought it was pretty cool.  My mom asked his name so we could say who Caleb's first wave was to.  :)  Then, of course, Caleb did a bunch more waving at people, pretty neat.

Both boys are crawling on all fours more and more.  They so still resort to scooting on their tummies often.

smashers

time warp

I'm digging through photos and blog posts from the past year and all I can say is, WOW!  My how time flies when life is a blur of diaper changes and feedings.  :)  I am working on scrapbooks for the boys that I hope to have done soon after they turn 1.  I'm trying not to let my perfectionism slow me down too much, but it's tough. 

Obviously, they've both changed lots, but I think as far as looks go Caleb has changed the most.  And personalities are opposite from what we thought at the beginning!  Logan isn't as aggressive as he seemed early on, and Caleb isn't as easy going. 

numbers

I was going to update tomorrow, but decided I'd like to have a post on 10.10.10.

I had a wonderful day on Friday.  There have been some things I wanted to get done around the house this fall, so I checked the forecast earlier in the week, asked Mike's mom and stepdad to babysit, and had a majorly productive day!  It also turned out really nice that Mike's shed finished on Thursday and he only worked a half day on Friday - between the two of us with no kids to care for we can get alot done.  :)

The kennel badly needed a paint job, so I got two coats on there and it looks tons better.  Mike and I worked together at washing the siding on the house, and all the windows on the ground level.  He washed both vehicles and pulled some big weeds for me, which he's paying for now...  I feel really bad - it was such a nice day we were both working in shorts, and now he has poison ivy all over and he gets pretty miserable with it.  But, besides that, we enjoyed working together for the afternoon.

Saturday I had a mini photo session - I did a newborn session for a friend of mine about a month ago and we weren't able to get pics of her two-year-old and newborn together, so we gave it another shot Saturday.  Well, if a two-year-old doesn't want to sit for a picture, they're just not going to sit for a picture.  :)  I can manage getting pics of just a two-year-old, I can run around and follow them with the camera, but when you throw a newborn in the mix and need the two-year-old to sit still for a few seconds, good luck!

Later in the afternoon Mike's brother and his family, and their cousin came to shoot clays in the back.  Ahhh, the country life!  :)  We also enjoyed supper and time around a fire together.

We got a gate installed at the bottom of the stairs, but so far it's almost been more trouble.  It has to be up on the first step, but that means the boys want to get up on that step and hang onto the gate and then sit down forgetting that they're up on a step... 

One of our fun things lately is getting into 'shouting matches' as a family.  I'm sure my mom would love this...  :)  It's just so fun to have the boys interact!  One of the boys will shout ("ahhhhhh"), we'll shout back, then the other will join in and we just go round and round.  I love it that they get into it and that they respond like that.  It's even more interesting when it happens in public.  :)

Both boys will frequently crawl on all fours, but still just scoot a majority of the time.  They both can walk behind the walker.  Tonight in his crib, Caleb was doing a "no hands" thing - he lasted maybe 2 or 3 seconds without hanging on to the railing.

Caleb seems to be getting more attached all of the sudden.  The other day when I dropped them off at Mike's mom's he cried (and he was looking at me with that bottom lip sticking out and reaching for me...), and today at nursery he cried both times when Mike handed him over - and, of course, Mike just ate that up.  :)

Mike decided that Logan may be the next karate kid.  He has some pretty good moves when you're trying to feed him and he doesn't want to eat.  Besides clamping his mouth shut and turning his head, he's pretty good at flailing his arms at just the right time.

All for now, I want to fall asleep while it's still 10.10.10.

stairs

Both boys figured out how to climb the stairs today.  Took me a little bit by surprise.  For awhile now Logan has shown some interest in going over by the stairs, but I haven't seen him try to go up.  And, Caleb has never really gone over there.  They were both standing by an exersaucer playing with it (not in it) and I stepped into the other room for 30 seconds, maybe a minute.  I poked my head around the corner and didn't see Caleb, so I hurried over and he was a few stairs up already!  Then Logan decided he wanted to try too.

Caleb goes up like a pro, you'd never know it was his first day.  He went all the way up by himself at bedtime tonight.  Logan isn't quite as steady or determined yet.

dream

Thursday afternoon I took Caleb and Logan to my niece's volleyball game.  I wasn't totally sure how I was going to manage getting in and sitting in the bleachers, but thankfully my mom was there as well and was able to help.  The boys seemed to enjoy watching the game!  First, there's lots to look at - lots of people, new noises, the ball going back and forth.  Then, they kinda got into it and even 'cheered' a little.

Saturday ended up being busier than we had intended, but such is life.  In the evening my guys took me on a date to the mall and that was fun.  We took the jogging stroller and I was a little worried it wasn't going to fit well, but it worked out just fine.  The mall is a busy place!  You certainly wouldn't guess that the economy isn't doing so hot.

Sunday was pretty crazy.  The boys didn't sleep much at church and we knew they weren't going to get much sleep in the afternoon, so when they fell back asleep in the car on the way home from church we took a little extra drive.  Then in the afternoon we went to a birthday party for my grandpa.  Of course the boys fell asleep on the way there for just a few minutes, then we had to get them out of the car.  They actually lasted longer than I thought they would for going on such little sleep.  By the time we left though, they were totally exhausted.  Fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep when we put them in their cribs.  Mike had to quick run over to the farm to feed cattle then hurry home, get cleaned up, and go to church to usher.  The boys were sleeping good so I stayed home with them. 

Mike's shed SHOULD be finishing up this week.  It sure is getting cold for them.  The other packing shed can shut their doors and stay warm, but Mike's shed is basically like being completely out in the open.  Not to mention the cold water they're working with!

I have a few photography commitments to take care of, then we've decided I'm going to take a bit of a break and try to say 'no' for awhile (I'll still do some family work).  It's just been a little too much lately, and I'm feeling sort of creatively burnt out.  I need to spend less time on photography, and when I do spend time on it I'd like to work on some fun projects and learning.

I think I keep forgetting to mention the dreams I've been having.  My family knows I've always had pretty crazy dreams and can tell stories almost every morning.  Well, there's been a theme to my dreams ever since the boys were born.  I frequently have dreams that the boys are in bed with us or in our room, and I need to put them in their cribs, but I just can't work up the energy to get up and do it.  I worry about falling asleep and rolling on them or them falling off the bed or whatever.  Last week I even woke Mike up because I was grabbing at him thinking Caleb was right there and falling down by the window.  I hope this doesn't keep getting worse - it's rather annoying for me and I feel bad that I'm disturbing Mike's sleep too!

Caleb is doing some funny things now - he's into licking everything.  Of course for a long time they've done the chewing on everything and putting everything in their mouths thing, but this is different.  When were looking at those 'touch and feel' books, he wants to lick the spot where you're supposed to feel the different texture.  Or he wants to lick the floor, Logan's head, whatever.  He also likes to hit his head.  He'll bang it on the floor a little, or he'll take a toy and hit himself with it.  Hmmmm....

Logan is getting better at taking steps when pushing something.  He seems to be more of a momma's boy at this point.  Neither of them are really snugglers, but if I have a chance at all it's going to be with him. 

yuck

I dealt with more throw-up today.  It happened in a much better spot this time though, and I didn't have it all over me.  Tried some new baby food at lunch today (Macaroni Tomato Beef or something).  I could see right away that neither of the boys liked it.  But, I proceeded to sneak a spoonful in here and there in between green beans and pears (I had to pull out the pears just to get something in them because they're starting to not be fond of green beans either).  We finished everything else and I was trying to get just a couple more spoonfuls of the new food in - Logan was turning away and refusing, Caleb took some but was making a funny face.  Then, Caleb's entire lunch came back out.  He kept heaving and it kept coming out...a nice big pile of green beans, pears, and macaroni tomato beef all mixed up.  All down his bib and on his tray, so it was easy cleanup - phew!  But, now I had a kid with an empty stomach and I knew he wasn't sick, so we started over again with lunch.  :)

10 months

Caleb and Logan turned 10 months old yesterday!  It's so hard to believe.  I'm trying to remember what I was thinking and feeling 1 year ago.  One of the gals in my twin mom's group is pregnant with her first two and will be having them any day.  I remember the beginning and end of my pregnancy seemed like an ETERNITY, but now time flies!

The boys had their first combine ride ex utero last night.  They seemed to enjoy watching everything.  They weren't scared of it at least.

waterfall

walk the line

The boys got to try out a walker at Uncle Eric & Aunt Lea Anne's house last weekend - Caleb took right off!  Thankfully, Uncle Harold & Aunt Kara had an extra one to loan us.  Logan has taken a few steps with it, but he's more interested in chewing on the handle which throws the balance off and he ends up falling backwards. 

stats

Well, the official results are in.  Caleb and Logan had their 9 month appointment tonight.  (Yes, even though they're almost 10 months...  Their 1 yr appointment isn't scheduled until they're 13 months...  Do you think that bothers a perfectionist like me just a little bit??)  Anyways, we're finally on the charts!

Caleb is 28 inches long (25th percentile) and weighs 17lbs 14oz (7th percentile).  Logan is 27 1/2 inches long (15th percentile) and weighs 16lbs 15oz (3rd percentile).  Since their 6 month appointment that's a 4lb gain for Caleb and 3lb gain for Logan. 

They did quite well during the appointment.  We were a little worried it was going to turn into a nightmare because Logan was cranky on the way there.  They both layed nice to be weighed, measured, and checked out.  They got a little antsy while we were talking with the doctor so he got out a bunch of plastic containers for them to play with (pee jars - clean, of course) and they had fun with those.

They did all sorts of stuff to show off for the doctor and nurse - scooting around, sitting up, pulling themselves up, jabbering.  The doctor is very happy with their health and development.  Sure they're still a little on the small side, but they continue to eat good, stay healthy, and develop on track.  Actually, Caleb even crawled with his tummy off the floor for the doctor!  He hasn't done that at all at home.  He was squirreling around on the floor in just his diaper and all of the sudden I noticed he took a few 'steps' forward!

We talked some about what their diet consists of, the doctor told me some new foods we can introduce.  I'll admit I've probably been a little on the slow side on starting new foods - partially due to being nervous about it and partially because of the hassle.  He did say though that because of them being small we probably shouldn't take them off formula right when they turn 1 year old.  We'll continue using formula until their 1 year appointment (at 13 months) and then he'll let us know how to proceed.  I am still nursing some, but I'm honestly not sure how long that will continue.  Mike is fine with me stopping whenever, but I'm not sure I'm ready yet.

No shots tonight, phew!

discovery

I made an important scientific discovery the other day!  Plenty of times I've witnessed our dogs ingest grass and then puke it back out (including any other contents of their stomach).  Well, apparently babies will do the same thing.  We were outside enjoying the beautiful day - the boys were penned up on a blanket.  It was quite windy out and they were getting a kick out of that.  Caleb pulled up the blanket a little and started pulling on the grass.  I figured some would end up in his mouth, but I actually consciously thought, "It's okay...let it go...it's not going to hurt him...I know kids that eat dirt and are just fine, how could grass be worse than that...you can't keep your kids clean all the time..."  Well, a few minutes later he puked on the blanket.  I could tell right away just from the quantity that this was not just spitting up.  I brought him inside and he was acting like he still had something in his mouth, and as I was turning him towards me he projectiled big time down my arm and on the floor.  I was SO close to getting it full on in the face.  Yuck.  One of the things I've dreaded about being a parent is dealing with puke.  It's just plain gross.  Thankfully, the boys' diet is such that the puke isn't a whole lot different than what goes in (it just kinda smelled bad), but it's just going to get worse as they get older.

The other night the boys stood by the window in the playroom and watched Mike cut the grass.  They loved it!  I think he mowed that area of grass a few extra times.  :)  Mike has been saying they were just excited about the mower, not that it was him, but this afternoon they watched my uncle cut the hay behind our house and they watched, but didn't get nearly as excited.

I've dealt with a couple bloody lips lately.  I guess that's one of the hazards of having sharp teeth and poor coordination. 

The other night I dusted off my running shoes and got back at it.  It's been too long!  Ran with my brother Eric in his neighborhood.  I certainly didn't have a stellar performance, but it was better than I expected after about 2 1/2 months off.  We just barely beat the storm.  It started raining at the very end when we were walking, and when we got to his driveway it was raining and blowing like crazy.  Visibility was terrible driving home.

giggles

One of my favorite sounds.

preacher or politician?

Logan has something to say. 

diapers

The boys are on the brink of moving up to Size 3 diapers.  I have been stocking up as I've come across good deals - haven't done too bad between sales and coupons and such.  Anyways, there are 1,032 diapers in that stack and if my math is correct (and that's a big 'if' since arithmetic is not my strong point...), at approximately 12 diapers a day, give or take a couple depending on the day, that should last us just over 12 weeks!

update

I'm not feeling a whole lot of creativity right now, and I don't want to get behind on this blog.

First, a little while ago I asked for prayer for our friend, Norma.  She had good news last week - no more cancer!  I'm a little short on certain details because much of the info is transferred via Mike, and it's a little hard for him because this is 'female stuff'.  :)  Anyways, she will not be having a hysterectomy now, and just has to be checked periodically to make sure the cancer doesn't return. 

Mike's packing shed will only be going for a couple more weeks, and the other shed for a couple weeks after that.  Hard to believe that another harvest is almost done! 

The boys are sure keeping us on our toes.  Caleb wants to pull up on everything.  And yesterday, he took a few steps while pushing a chair!  He has stood without hanging onto anything for a few seconds, but he hasn't tried that much.  For the last month or so we've been noticing that he feels heavier than Logan - they have a doctor's appointment later this week and we are very anxious to have them weighed.

Logan is pulling up more and more.  We've had a few problems with him standing in his crib and then getting upset after awhile, but not too bad, so hopefully he figured out quicker than Caleb how to get back down.  He has crawled with his tummy off the floor for a couple steps, but is still content to scoot around (and is plenty quick that way).

We are still dealing with some spitting up.  Sigh.  It has lessened and isn't as regular, but it definitely still happens.  The other night (of course after I mopped the floor) they were both spitting up rather large quantities.  I don't know what that was about. 

I very much dislike handling bathtime by myself.  At this age (the boys' age, not mine) I can't manage both in the tub at the same time by myself, so that means while I'm giving one a bath I get to listen to the other in the bedroom screaming like they've been abandoned.  It's a rather stressful situation.  I try to save bathtime for when Mike can help, but with our schedule lately that's just not always possible.

Alright, the boys did not sleep well this morning and they're quiet now, so I've got lots to get done!

barn raising

We had a modern day barn raising the other day.  My dad bought a grain bin from the neighbors and had to get it moved that 1/2 mile down the road.  Of course, this is a fun event that is a good time for a party, right?  Most of the family was there (we missed you Emily, Natalie, and Wingerts!), and even a few others came to observe.  The weather was PERFECT - a beautiful late summer day.

I think making the corner from the driveway to the road was the hardest part.

So far, so good!

Almost to it's final resting place.

rained out

This past weekend was a big one - alot of firsts!  It was the 13th annual canoe trip for Mike and his friends from high school (I believe this was the 7th year I've gone).  This canoe trip is a big deal and I didn't miss out last year due to being pregnant with twins, and so I wasn't about to miss out this year just because we had to leave them overnight.  So yeah, this was our first overnight away from Caleb and Logan.  I didn't think I was going to have a hard time with it because I felt ready for a break and some time away, but when we said good-bye and drove away I was feeling pretty sad for a few minutes.  Then I was able to relax and enjoy our kid-free time.  Every once in a while on Saturday I would check the time and think of what they would be doing, and I was anxious to get back to them on Sunday, but we had a nice time.  Mike feels a little bad because he worked almost up to their bedtime on Friday night, Saturday morning we got them up just to load them in the car and then drop them off, and between naptime and church last night he didn't get to see them much.  But, they'll get some quality guy time tonight because I have a photo session.

Anyways, the other 'first'...  For always having the canoe trip in September, surprisingly the weather has never been a problem.  Until this year!  This is the first year we weren't able to canoe - it was just raining too hard and was too cold.  Some sprinkles and clouds are tolerable, but this was just too much.  Thankfully, rather than have to sit out the rain at the campground, one of the guys has a cousin that runs a hotel in Manistee (1/2 hr from where we were), and we were able to go there and hang out for the afternoon.  He gave us a conference room to hang out in and eat our lunch, and we made good use of the indoor pool.  :)  We went back to the campground in the evening for supper and to hang out - things were wet, but it wasn't raining anymore.  We had a few small puddles in our tent, but our air mattress kept us off the ground so it was no big deal. 

Switching subjects.  Please be in prayer for a friend of ours, her name is Norma.  She found out a few weeks ago that she has cervical cancer.  She will be having a hysterectemy soon.  I think she has a doctor appointment today to find out more details (date of surgery, any other treatments, etc.). 

weekend

Saturday evening my guys took me out on a date!  We walked around downtown Holland - it was a little chilly that night, but that was our chance to get out so we bundled up and had a good time.  It IS getting harder to take the boys out to eat, they're not content to just sit in their car seats anymore!  We did manage to have supper, take a walk, then have coffee and dessert.  Here's a pic of what it's like to go out with twins...  (I had stepped aside to look in a store window and then when I saw this I just had to quick snap a pic!)

Okay, so we don't always attract THAT big of a crowd, but we don't go unnoticed either.  I saw a video on YouTube the other day of a family that tried to take their infant triplets to the zoo, I think they felt like one of the attractions.  It seems to me like each 'extra' baby adds 10x the amount of attention you get - if you have one baby some people are going to look and say "How cute..."; if you have two babies everyone will look and many will say something ("Are they twins?", "Are they identical?", "You have your hands full!"....); and if you have triplets or more the attention is even more intensified.

Yesterday we went up to Harold & Kara's cottage.  It ended up being a very nice day!  A tad on the cool side, but not too bad.  Still warm enough for the wave runner, and Mike took a quick dip in the lake.  Logan enjoyed lounging in Alyssa's princess chair, but Mike doesn't want him to get too attached to anything pink.

This morning I had a newborn photo session for a friend.  What a doll!  The baby is 7lbs and I just CANNOT believe my boys were that little!  It felt like air when I picked her up.  Once her mom got her sleepy she did great and I had so much fun shooting her.  We tried to get a few pics with her big brother, but when two-year-olds aren't in the mood there's just not much you can do about it.  :)  Of course it was great to come home after being gone for the morning, the boys came right to me and started crawling all over me.  Love it.  The only problem - they were too good for Mike while I was gone!  Now he thinks my job is a piece of cake!  :)

splish splash

The boys took their first bath together in the big tub.  This is definitely something I would not attempt alone!  These clips don't really show how much they get into splashing.  There were a few tears when it was time to get out of the tub, but I would alot rather have that than not liking baths.

marines

Caleb is ready for the marines.

more

We've been working on the sign for 'more' and are making some headway!

thoughts

A few random thoughts:

1.  It doesn't matter if you have two of the same toys, one baby will always want what the other one has.
2.  I wonder how many times in my life I will say, "Don't hit your brother."?  It starts so early!
3.  It's a good thing Hobby Lobby isn't closer to our house and is difficult to go to with the boys or else I could spend lots of time and money there.  They don't have cart corrals in the parking lot (a must with non-walking twins) and the carts are itty-bitty.  I managed yesterday, but it wasn't exactly enjoyable, and I feel like a bad member of society for leaving my cart in the parking lot, but what am I supposed to do??
4.  Is it bad that I put Chick'n Lick'n's phone number in my cell?  Having them open up down the street is bittersweet.  Love their chicken, don't love what it does to the waistline and arteries.  It's super handy though to be able to call ahead and pick up my order at the drive-thru.
5.  I've now made one trip in to lay Caleb back down since naptime began.  It's rather quiet at the moment, maybe I won't have to go in again?
6.  Logan can now pull himself all the way up, too!  He did it yesterday while playing in Caleb's crib.  It hasn't turned into a major problem yet.  I mean, I love it that they're learning new things and developing like they're supposed to, it just creates new challenges for me.  :)
7.  What's this about a holiday weekend that everyone's talking about?  This is just a bad time of year for a holiday.  Mike has been working really long days this week, and is working today, too.  Plus taking care of the farm while my parents are gone.  And he has to work some Monday.  I have a photo session Monday, too, but I don't really consider that work - it's a chance for me to get out of the house alone and do something fun.  :)
8.  I believe I'm all out of deep thoughts for now...

P.S.  It's still quiet in the boys' room.  A successful naptime is always a blessing.  Gotta run - need to make the most of my time while they're sleeping!

current challenge

My current challenge:  getting a 9 month old with the newly acquired skill of pulling himself up in his crib to lay down and sleep.

I've gone in and layed Caleb down a few times now and he keeps pulling himself up and stands there and cries.  I might just put him in a pack-and-play soon, he can't stand up in there yet...

stand

Caleb pulled himself all the way to standing up today!  Earlier in the day he pulled up on me - I was pretty sure I hadn't helped him at all, but was anxious to see him do it again so I could make sure.  :)  Tonight we were all playing in the living room and right in front of Mike and I he pulled himself up holding onto the end table.  He was so proud of himself!!

Logan was sitting up on his own a bunch more today.  He's pretty proud of himself, too.  I love seeing that look of joy on their face.  :)  Otherwise he's been pretty out of sorts today.  I hope it's just teething!

wow

Caleb and Logan are 9 months old today.  Wow!  Where has the time gone?  Let's see if I can quick sum up where we're at right now...  Caleb gets around very well by scooting (no crawling with tummy off the floor yet).  Does get up on his hands and knees and rock, but that's it.  He can get up to a sitting position on his own and does this alot.  He can pull himself about halfway up, but not quite all the way.  He loves to 'talk' and seems to be quite social.  We went to the fair again the other night and he got so hyper, I think it was just from being around so many people!  He also seems quicker to throw a tantrum - if you take something away from him, sometimes changing his diaper, etc.  His two bottom front teeth came in a while ago, and I can see his two top ones just about to poke through.  He loves to eat, and will generally eat more than Logan.

Logan also scoots around like crazy - what's funny is they scoot the exact same way.  He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks alot too, seems very close to actually crawling.  He can get up to a sitting position by himself, but hasn't done it alot yet.  Many times he seems to be a little more serious, and a little quicker to cry.  He has his two bottom front teeth, and I haven't seen any others yet, but the last couple days he sure has been acting like he's teething. 

Yes, it is exhausting, but it is also so much fun having two babies at once.  I love watching them interact - a firstborn singleton must be so lonely!  :)  Generally, they follow each other around when playing, which is mostly a good thing for me.  That means they are getting into trouble together, but that's easier to deal with than getting into trouble separately at the same time.  I can only be in one place at the same time!  They 'talk' to each other, laugh with each other (my favorite!), and crawl over each other (sometimes Logan doesn't like this...).

The love the dogs - and something interesting that Mike has noticed is that when he shows them the pictures of the dogs that we have up in the hallway they pay more attention to Sadie and Macy than Brandy.  Hmmmm....so, they've already got it figured out that they don't know Brandy?  I'm fascinating by this whole learning and developing process and am often wondering what's going on in those little heads as they take in this world.

I wonder what I'm leaving out that in 20 years I'm going to wish I had recorded about this stage in their life...  :)

fair

We took Caleb and Logan to the fair last night.  We'd really been looking forward to taking them to see the animals.  Right away we were watching them move some pigs and one was trying to go the wrong way, it squealed super loud and we were RIGHT there - didn't seem to bother Caleb too bad, but I guess Logan got a little scared.  I'm not sure, but I think Caleb was more interested in watching people as we walked around.  :)  I don't know if they quite know what to think of the horses and cows, they're a little on the large side.  Logan did pet a horse.  Just so they don't start thinking we need to get one of our own.

Last night before bedtime Logan was sad and needed some snuggle time with me.  I'm not going to argue!  I don't get that very often.  I thought that between two babies I'd end up with at least one cuddler, but not so!

Tonight the boys got to ride the lawn mower for the first time!  Caleb was having a blast, Logan was a little more subdued, but I think he liked it.  Caleb was looking at me, smiling, and squealing while he rode with Mike, but of course he was doing the same thing for the dogs.  :)