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.  :)