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!!!

What a Difference...

I am truly amazed at the difference a few months can make... things are so much easier with the boys. (At this moment in time). I totally understand that as soon as these two start walking it will be a whole new ball game again, so I am enjoying this time. They have been sleeping so well, taking long naps and have been just so good at playing together. I am able to get so much more done than I used to... still not able to really have more than a half hour before I'm interrupted, but at least I can be hands free longer! Not to mention the boys are just so fun right now! So funny too! Seeing them together is the best. They just love being goofy... playing peek-a-boo and chasing each other. Neither are walking yet, but both are close. Both have taken steps, but not more than a couple. Funny thing is, Luke can stand on his own... just about from anywhere, using a table to balance or just standing up from the middle of the floor... but not walking yet?!

I took these pictures last night. Luke had a little bit of a red butt from his diaper so I was letting him roam free... then he decided he wanted to look at Dad's landscaping magazine with him... so sweet!

Not sure how well dirty Carhartt's help with butt rash! ha!

Best Buddies!

Happy Friday... and don't worry, are are NOT camping this weekend :)

Happy Summer Days

The boys were able to spend some time down at Aunt Rachael and Uncle Josh's new house that they are in the process of remodeling. They sure love the water. I'm sure in a couple years they will love to spend LOTS of time there swimming!

Grandma Candy and Aunt Rach getting the boys wet!

Foreman A and Foreman B... keeping the boys on track.

Funny new thing... the boys love yogurt burst cheerios... below is Luke, slowly working away at his pile...

And here is Max... picking out all the yogurt ones, and preceding to throw handfuls of the plain ones on the ground! Ha ha ha! I thought it was too funny, Caleb didn't. His first comment was, "Great, just like your mom, another person to pick all the good stuff out of the trail mix!" Sorry Caleb, gotta love those genes! :)

Oops, we did it again...

No, we aren't pregnant with twins again, but we did go camping again. Why?! I can no longer remember!!! It all started out great... we decided late on Saturday afternoon to head up the North Shore to do some sightseeing and enjoy our camper... you know, we wanted to wash away the bad memories from the other weekend and start fresh. With new good memories, in our trusty-rusty RV!

We finally headed out of Hayward around three in the afternoon and sailed all the way past Silver Bay, MN that evening. We were able to find a campsite, surprisingly, since we learned that there was a kayak festival in Two Harbors and the Fishermen's Festival in Grand Marais all that weekend! Caleb was excited to hear about the festival in Grand Marais (sounds similar to our Musky Fest) so we decided to head that direction Sunday morning to partake in the events that day. Camping Saturday night went well. The boys actually stayed in their own beds all night in the camper and we were off and back on the road, smooth sailing once again... headed to Grand Marais.

When we were about 20 miles south of GM the ol' girl started chugging... Caleb said not to worry, it was the same thing that happened the other weekend, but it would be fine. He worked that problem out already. I was thinking... oh, crap! So we continued down the road, with an uneasy feeling, but full of optimism... at least one of us! As we chugged along the fuel seemed to lose all pressure and then it happened. We just stalled... the big fat lug of metal quit! I was trying to get Caleb focused on pulling over so that we wouldn't hold up ALL the traffic headed to the Fishermen's Festival, so he quickly coasted to a drive off the highway...

You might find this funny, I guess I do now too... but at the time I didn't! This was the road we landed on... for the next six hours!

HAPPY ACRES DRIVE :)

Poor Caleb, he diligently tried to work on the engine while the boys and I played in the RV. It was evident quickly, however, that our chances of getting back on the road were slim. One of the residents that live on Happy Acres Drive stopped and helped confirm the fact that we were stranded, in an OLD RV, with two babies, a frustrated dad, a pessimistic mom, and no where but UP to go! We got the number to dispatch from him and in no time a state patrol came to be our next possible savior.

Nope, he was no good either. But also very helpful in pointing out the doom in our situation... now we had two crabby babies, one irritated mom, a hopeless dad, and more bad news... no one that could tow our big, bad, broken down beast! All the tow trucks in the area could not tow something that heavy and our only option was to get a tow from Duluth... for $1500!!!! So, of course, Caleb said no thanks... he was thinking why tow it for that much when I can't get that out of it! And I was thinking, well I actually asked if we could just find a paint brush and paint to write FREE! Driver comes with! ... or ... $3 Tours, come see REAL LIVE TWINS! in their natural vacation habitat! $1 per question.... I assured Caleb we'd have that tow truck there in no time! We would have made $100 bucks off the state patrol officer alone... "They don't look alike, are they identical?" Here's your sign...

We ended up calling my mom to come get us (she was the savior that day) and while we waited we enjoyed the AC from the generator, had some lunch, took a nap, and really had a nice afternoon, camping!

We made it home safe and sound and Caleb and one of his buddies went back up that night to pick the RV up and trailer it back home. What a feat! They had to pull it up, with just man power in the middle of the night... but they made it! Barely, but they did.

So the ol' girl now sits and waits at a local repair shop. The thing is, I know and Caleb knows that after we get it looked over and redone by a professional mechanic, we will most likely venture out for one more try... BUT our families have warned us that we are not allowed to go farther than we can walk home! Good news is, Jolly Fisherman Road is only 10 miles from our house, so we might just end up parked there next weekend!

Homecoming...

So I really don't want to be sappy and sentimental ALL the time, but it's really just this time of year! Ugh! A year ago tomorrow my boys were officially discharged from the NICU at St. Mary's in Duluth. A year ago tonight we stayed in the hospital one last time, with our boys actually (we had to do a trial-run with them before we could leave) and then we were all FREE! We passed, really the boys passed with their temperatures and breathing tests so we were sent home. HOME. Such an exciting and scary time. So happy we have made it this far. All still functioning as one unit, all still alive and kicking, and some of us almost ready to do it again. Well, that may be stretching it a little. But I think God gives us the ability, or maybe the inability to remember only the good things, pushing back the bad so that when we reminisce on the past we see the highs and laugh at the lows. I truly believe this because if it were not true, all women would only survive one pregnancy. Some crazy ladies, with really bad memories, even have lots and LOTS of pregnancies! I'm not sure what would be more effective, birth control or ginkgo biloba! Ha ha! I'm really kidding, children are amazing! So far, they are my favorite! :)

In other reminiscing related news... I got the boys' admission and discharge paperwork in the mail the other day for insurance and I was amazed at what I read. A very detailed account of what happened to my boys at birth! I was completely under anesthesia and didn't meet them for about 2 hours after their birth so it was extremely exciting and disheartening to read all the information of the events that followed their births. Neither cried at birth, both were pale with fused eye lids, Luke took less effort to get to breath, and Max needed two attempts of resuscitation and more oxygen before he was hooked up to the ventilator. Just mind blowing to think of how grim things were when they came into the world, and how amazingly God faithfully saw us through each hurdle... to now!

Oh man, it was such a crazy time... but really, I miss so much of it!

It's hard for me to look at this picture in some ways... Max looks like a normal healthy little baby, while Luke looks so tiny and fragile. But now... they are BOTH doing great!

The watchmen... they were keeping an eye on dad and his guys as they prepped the driveway to get resurfaced.

Busy boys... always UP . DOWN . UP . DOWN . on the stairs!

I look at this picture and think I couldn't love two beings any more!

To any one out there that may have tiny twins, or know someone in my old shoes.... Please encourage them that it does and will get better. It is difficult in different ways, but it sure does get better! Thank you Lord for seeing us through!

Getting Caught Up

So I found a bunch of photos that I have neglected to add.. so I am doing some blog-housekeeping! We had a fun day today... taking pictures! A 'team' from Essentia Health in Duluth came today to take some photos of the boys for the "Here With You Stories" we were featured in. Which you can see here. I'm hoping they got some good ones! It was fun, either way! :)

Grandpa Paul was taking the boys for quick lawn mower rides the other night, and Luke was so enthralled! No surprise really! So fun to watch them!

He kept two hands on the wheel the whole time. Grandpa Safety was so proud! haha! (That's your new name, Dad, Grandpa Safety!)

Luke was so serious and so in to it! They had a great time. What a great grandpa!

Grandpa, Luke and Max. Luke was ready for the photo shoot to be over so he could drive more!

Grandma Cookie on the boat with her sleeping life jackets!

Daddy and Max

Yes, I took pictures in Home Depot. But you would too if your kids were this cute! haha!

I love the stores that have these double carts. I know they were not probably designed just for mothers of twins, but I like to feel special and think so!

Brotherly love? Hard to tell...

Racing!

Sharing pacifiers!


This is what was going on while I was pumping... hmmm?

I asked them how this happened and they both said they had NO idea!?!

Happy Weekend... almost!