Weekend Away and Then Some...

First off, I really hate coming up with titles for my posts. I don't know why I do... but I never feel very clever when I start writing and it is always the first thing I write! So, sorry for the lame title.... my kids have zapped my creativity!

So we did it! We got away for the weekend and totally enjoyed ourselves! It was great and weird all at the same time. Great to not be on any one's schedules, great to be alone together, great to eat out with no distractions, but also weird in all the same ways! Life just doesn't feel right without the boys with us anymore, but in the same token we needed that time away desperately! By the end of our weekend Caleb and I were just laughing at each other. Everything the other would say we would GET and we were filled back up with grace for each other. We just spent time shopping, going out to eat, talking, and more eating! The best part was knowing that the whole time we were away enjoying ourselves our boys were being taken care of by people who love them as much as we do! It was so great knowing that the boys were doing so well too! Caleb's parents took them overnight Saturday and then my parents had them part of Sunday until we got home. The boys napped well and slept well at night which was so nice for everyone!! Overall, it was a success! And... I apologize, but no pictures from the weekend, totally forgot to bring the camera. The pictures would have been boring anyway, just of me and Caleb!

So the boys' favorite new toy??? This sweet four wheeler handed down from their awesome cousins. They are so IN LOVE with it! Talk about a couple of boys! They play with it morning, noon and night. It's the first thing they go to in the morning! The only bad part is that all they really do is fight over it! One gets on and the other pushes them off, and so it continues! Max likes doing "tricks" on it! I just tell him to get on and do his tricks, and before I know it he's standing up... with the funniest look on his face. He is just as impressed with himself as I am!

Luke watching his brother's "tricks" :)

Here is the next Moto-Cross racer! (ah... no thanks, mom's not ready for that!)

Step 2...

and step 3!

In other news, we had our 15 (ended up being 16 month) well-child check up on Wednesday. And yes, there were shots! Yuck! The boys are now weighing in at 19 lbs 11 oz (Luke) and 21 lbs 3 oz (Max). They are also both a little over 28" I think... maybe 28.5"? Dr. Hyser was pleased with how well they were doing and they both were given a clean bill of health! And then the shots... never fun... but every time we go in for shots I feel like my mind goes back to our stay in the NICU and when I had to 'help' and watch all the procedures they had done there. Putting in and taking out of IV's, head and heart ultrasounds, blood checks and transfusions, feeding tubes, and even immunizations in there... it just puts it all into perspective. Now they are two healthy strong little boys that have already gone through so much. So shots, eh! That's nothin'!

Not sure if I already mentioned this on here or not, but the boys are really walking well now. Almost to the point of running. They both are trying so hard to talk... and I feel so bad because I can see that they want to but it's just so hard to get it out! Also... Max dances all the time. He loves music. It is so funny because he will be intently playing with something and he will hear music come from the TV or a random toy and he immediately stops whatever he is doing and shimmies his little body! So funny to watch! And Luke's funny new thing is fake burping. I shouldn't have and laughed when he burped once and now he tries to burp all the time. It's actually pretty cute... but that is coming from his mom! :)

And lastly... in other fun news... tomorrow I get to head off to Cranberry Fest with my sister-in-law and hopefully meet up with my other sister-in-law. Can't wait, I always love going and looking through the chaos. Oh, and eating the bad-for-you food! Also, tonight is Tyler's birthday party. The last of the foursome to turn one! We are all so excited to go celebrate with our buddy! We love him! He is so sweet and has the best little smile ever! It will be fun to see Tyler, John, Luke and Max all walking together for the first time. Our boys finally have caught on enough now so it will be fun to watch all the toddlers toddle! Wow... we all have toddlers... so who is ready for round two?! Girls this time? hahaha... let's talk in a few years! :)

Happy Friday!

It's Fall!

My Fall Mantel

My favorite season is here... FALL. I love the refreshing cool breezes, apple cider, pumpkins, shorter days (my husband being home earlier), falling leaves, food, fall festivals, our anniversary, etc... Yes, our FIVE YEAR anniversary is this weekend! Crazy?! Tomorrow actually, the 23rd. I just can't believe it's been five years already, and it was nine years ago in the fall that we started dating... almost a decade! Ugh... that makes me sound old! We are headed out of town this weekend. For the first time since the boys were born. That would be 16 months since we have had an overnight getaway... alone. I am super excited, but also nervous. I have no reason to be... I just can't help it. The funny thing to me is that as much as I am excited to get out of town, alone with my husband, I am just that excited to come home already!! I was talking to my mom the other day and was telling her that... and I am just continually amazed at the gift of joy and contentment the boys have given me. Before I had them I would be dreading the end of the weekend before it ever started, and now... now I'm excited for everything... leaving, being there, and coming home to my boys! I am so thankful how God has filled me with contentment. I almost can't explain it... I remember hearing women say they had never been happier after they had a baby... and I never understood that feeling until now. My life really doesn't feel full without them...

Some updates on our lives...

- The boys are officially walking. EVERYWHERE! It's so fun to watch them toddle, like a couple of drunken sailors!

- Fortunately walking at this very moment in time is much slower than crawling... so they are still manageable. However, I know running is right around the corner... AH!

- The boys are trying, SO HARD, to say more words, other than mama and dada. Right now Luke has HOT down and Max can say MORE (of course, so he can get more food!) We almost have Uh-Oh down too.

- As of this weekend the boys will be officially done nursing. Weening has went well and rather easy. They were ready and so was I, kinda. They were more ready than me probably. I am just mourning my past metabolism. I could just about cry... for the past two years with being pregnant with twins and then nursing twins I was able to eat WHATEVER I wanted WHENEVER I wanted to... and now... not so much. I'm back to my old faithful (hurry-and-store-fat-just-in-case-you-get-stranded-in-the-Sahara-Dessert metabolism). I really think I can gain a pound just by looking at a Hershey's Kiss. Ok, I'm done...

- Other new things, Caleb is getting ready for his fall hunting trips and I am feeling so much better about all of that this year than last. The boys are much easier now, and best of all... they sleep at night! I am excited for Caleb to get some time to relax and have fun. He's had a crazy summer season!

- Max now has his one year molars coming in and is up to eight teeth (not counting them).

- Luke still just has two on top and two on bottom.

- The boys love kissing each other now and they hold hands while they sit next to each other in their high chairs. They also pass cheerios back and forth!

- The boys currently have their first colds of the season, and I HOPE their last. Sick kids is so not fun. I feel so bad for them... and they just really don't sleep well when they are all stuffed up. The doctor at the follow up clinic just really stressed how important it is for them to stay healthy this year also. She said that this year is very critical, just like last. More for their long term health than anything. So as much as being a germ-a-phobe sucks, I need to buckle down one last year so that I don't have to be like this for the rest of their lives! So this holiday season... pass the sanitizer!

My sweet boys in their diapers and socks... they are so cool! :)

Celebrating with Great-Grandma Martin for her birthday!!! She's an old pro - she had twin boys too!

At the Minnesota ZOO!!!

All the cousins...

Watching the monkeys.


Mmmmm... sharks teeth?


Splashing with Auntie Angie!

The boys loved the zoo. More than I ever thought they would have at this age. It was so fun because the fish swam right up to the glass and they were just mesmerized! It was awesome to watch their little faces light up!

Making Messes...

My boys' new talent... making messes, making messes, making messes, repeat! They are in to everything and because we don't have closet doors yet they love to take everything out of the closets too!! But, part of me really isn't bothered by it. I take the opportunity to try to teach them what is ok and not ok to play with, and then it takes about two minutes to clean it all up. However, today we had one of our biggest messes ever ... poop, yup, I said POOP!

I had just changed Luke's blowout diaper and he was just running off in only his diaper when I began to change Max's blowout. It was all the way up his back so I had a hold of his feet in my left hand, way up high, as I wiped his butt with my other hand. He proceeded to reach down and grab a big handful of poop, as I screamed! I then tried to continue to wipe his back off so I could set him on his back again and at the same time I was trying to keep him from smearing poop all over his body. At this time his brother came back into the picture, in a rage to get into the open poopy diaper. Now I had Max's feet in my one hand, my knee restraining his other hand full of poop and my other hand shewing away Luke! Then, before I knew it, Max smeared his poopy hand all over Luke's leg! Ah!!! I kind of lost it at this point and just let poop get on Max's clothes, wiped off Luke, finished wiping off Max and then had to clean them both in the sink! Man... that is a prime example of that twin bonding... even over poop! Ha ha!

Taking out ALL of the wipes!

Emptying all of my drawers!

"What, Mom!?"

Also, the boys really are starting to take off walking. Just in the past few days! It is so fun to see them toddle around! They are good incentive for each other too... once Max sees Luke walking, he's up and ready to go. And same for Luke! We are really in trouble now!!! Gotta run... I think I hear a mess being made :)

Walking?

Once again I have fallen way behind on updating where the boys are at... They are now ONE YEAR ADJUSTED! This is a big deal, for me, the m.o.m. Mostly because when we talk about milestones the last year, it always seems to refer to this age. And we've made it! Both boys are taking steps, better everyday and Luke is passing up Max now and I have a feeling he will be running before I know it... probably before I want him to! Otherwise nothing else is really new. They are both talking a little... babble sounds still mostly, but Max is doing really good with Mama and Dada, well really good might be an exaggeration. But he can point to us and say the right name when he wants to, but that is still inconsistent!

We had our 12 month adjusted age NICU follow clinic this week and things went really good! The doctors were pleased with their growth and development so far and had no real concerns! Max now weighs 20 lbs and is 28.7" and Luke is 18 lbs and 28.3". They also said that Luke can cut down on his wear time with his braces, already!?! We are so excited!

Hmm... other news? We are enjoying the first tastes of fall. I LOVE fall and am so energized by the change in the air. So I have been busy doing some house projects/organizing and then the norm... clean, change, laundry, repeat, hug, kiss, run, NO!, feed, clean, and go-go-GO! But I am loving it!!! Everyday is different, fun, busy, and exciting! Everyday they learn new things and give sweeter smiles, and they are really starting to become these hilarious little buddies, partners in crime. I wish I had a video camera strapped to my head recording everything I see them do so I can share it with everyone! The best time is when they first wake up in the morning or from a nap... I hold them both together on the rocking chair and they slowly wake up, then turn to find each other... and giggle... then poke... then kiss... then giggle! So sweet. Twins really are such a fun thing to witness, as they grow together and interact. I thank God that he blessed me with them and them for each other.

Caleb and I and the boys went for a four-wheeler ride on Labor Day out at our land. The boys really liked it too!

My cool dude! He is already becoming a little entertainer... watch out, he will be a ham! My mom has told me many stories of my brother and I, and I think this little man is following in those oh-so-entertaining, but mortifying for the parents type!

Some of my favorite stories are about my brother though... talk about funny! I just hope my son won't ask random ladies why their butts are so big, or pee on the sidewalk downtown, or comment on non-expectant women's bellies, etc... :)

We gave the whole cake and ice cream thing another shot on August 29th! (Their due date). I figured Luke needed another go at it... he didn't get into it the first time!

Max

This time he figured it out, and LOVED it!

Max's first haircut...

Like Father, Like Son... Daddy and Luke

Giving each other RIDES!

Max pushing Luke. And Max has a toothbrush in his mouth?!

Hopefully I will get more pictures up soon!!!