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.