Happy Birthday Eve

I can't believe they are turning one tomorrow!  How time flies (I think I say that every month!).  Here is just a little video of the boys playing in the kitchen with the towels.  Lately they just start laughing all on their own and keep laughing for, what seems to be, no reason.  There has been a lot of "da da" lately (which is why you hear Troy say that - in an effort to get them started).  And excuse the darkness of the video -- Troy took it with his phone.

Odds and Ends

A few things to report around here.  First of all, a BIG thanks to Aunt Julie and Uncle Shaun for the awesome birthday gift for the boys.  They sent a wagon for the boys and they just LOVE it.  I know their birthday isn't officially here yet, but with the nice weather this weekend, we thought we'd take advantage of it and take them for a little walk in it to see what they thought.  They were a little skeptical at first, but then enjoyed it.

It is also amazing at what the boys find entertaining.  A pop bottle, a bucket, being on the couch - the list is endless.  Here are a few pictures of Troy throwing Ellis up in the air and landing on the couch.  He LOVED it..

The last little tidbit of the day -  Ellis took two steps today.  Yes, two very wobbly steps, but steps nonetheless.  It won't be long now..

Thats all for now.  Time for baths!

Saturday Adventures

Yesterday we had a few firsts:

1) I bought them each a little snack trap cup on Friday.  Now the trick was finding out if they would understand how to use it and then use it correctly.  It took a few minutes, but they got the hang of it.  Then Ellis got even smarter and realized that if he pushed the little flap down and shook it at the same time, some cheerios would come out on their own - and oh what fun that was!  For the most part it was a success!

2) Then we went to get their very first hair cut.  They couldn't have that shaggy hair for their big party next weekend!  =)  Logan was NOT a fan of the clippers, so he was pretty upset the entire time, even when we tried to occupy him with yogurt melts and his favorite book.  Ellis wasn't so bad, and with the help of a nearby stylist that acted silly to distract him, he was finished much quicker.

Logan is first.  Not too bad yet (That's because she didn't start yet - she was just putting the cape on!)

Yes, he was like this the ENTIRE time.

Ellis's turn - so far so good.

Okay Dad, get me out of here.  I'm sick of this now...

Logan - After

Ellis - After

3)  The boys have been eating finger foods for a while, they usually get some form of meat, veggie/starch, and fruit for dinner, but I have been trying to transition them to eating what we eat, so I'm not cooking two different meals all the time.  Depending on what we even have for dinner though, it's not always easy.  Last night I made Mango Chutney Chicken - not the exact name, but it has homemade mango chutney with chicken that was cooked in a mixture of coconut milk, red curry paste, and fish oil, served with pasta.  After they ate what I prepared for them, they seemed hungry still, so I started cutting up my dinner for them and they ate, and ate, and ate it all up. I actually had to go get more for myself AND for them because they were eating so much of it.  Sounds like a hit - and I guess I can't assume that they won't like our different concoctions for dinner because they sure proved me wrong last night.  Looks like that transition won't be as hard as I thought...

Speaking of eating and transitioning them to "normal" meals, I'd love feedback from any moms out there: what do you prepare for your kids for lunch?  I think lunch time is the hardest meal to prep for without always being so repetitive with what they have.  Any suggestions?

Back to normal

I am so happy to report that we are all back to normal as of today!  Despite our very unlucky St. Patrick's Day (must be because I'm not Irish!), we had an awesome day today.  I will spare you our day yesterday, with sharing today's details only!

Logan and Ellis are back to sleeping well at night - no vomiting or diarrhea to wake them up.  Logan was up and at 'em at 6:15am though, so he became tired a bit earlier than normal too..

Having fun with a blanket and big pillow, turned into...

getting just a little too comfortable...

...and then falling asleep - and it was only 10am!

I went to Party City to pick up some party supplies (2 weeks away!), but was quite disappointed with their selection, so I went to a store that never fails me...Target!  Then off to Meijer for groceries.

Once I got home, I saw that Logan was helping Dad load the dishwasher.

Good job little guy.  You can load it anytime you want!

After we ate lunch, it was off to Toys 'R Us to pick up some toys for our favorite boys!  We picked out a bunch of fun ones, and the boys loved looking around in the store.  They didn't make a peep the whole time!  Just in awe of everything, it seemed.  

When we got home, it was so nice outside, that we decided to hang out on the deck.  We put the gate up by one set of stairs and the grill blocked the other.  The boys loved it out there and I personally liked just relaxing out there in the fresh air.  

Daddy, when can I have a slurpee?

The boys watching me play with Bella.

Even outside, Logan LOVES looking at his books!

Tonight we Google-chatted with Grandma and Grandpa Bush, who are still in California. Although they aren't going to be physically here for their birthday party, we are going to Google-chat with them during the party when they are eating their cake and opening their presents.  Thank goodness for technology to keep in touch!

Now, its time to get ready for another week at work!  Good night!

The never-ending week of sickness

Despite the beautiful weather outside, our week was not beautiful inside.

Our week in review:

• Monday - Troy stayed home with the boys because my mom had a doctors appointment.  Logan got sick after lunch.  I picked up some pedialyte on my way home from work, and Logan threw up 3 more times that night.  After 2 baths, many loads of laundry, 5 new outfits for Logan, and a change of sheets, the night finally died down around 11:15pm.
• Tuesday - Logan slept through the night, he seemed better in the morning, so they went to my mom's.  Unfortunately, Ellis got sick around noon.  I left work to get them and headed home.  I took a nap with Ellis after we got home while Troy hung out with Logan.  After we woke up, we found that Logan and Troy just woke up from a nap too.  Troy said he had the chills and wasn't feeling good.  As of about 6:30pm, he was in bed (or in the bathroom) for the rest of the night.

Poor Ellis was so sad after getting sick.  Just like his Grandpa, he fought throwing up so much.  Grandma made him feel all better and rocked him until he fell asleep.  Luckily he didn't throw up anymore that night.

• Wednesday - All boys (Troy included) slept through the night and seemed to be doing better.  Since they seemed fine, we started as we do any other normal day.  I talked to my mom during my morning break at work and she said they both ate a little bit - things seemed good.  Got a call around 2ish - Logan had diarrhea again - 15 minutes later - he threw up again.  Brought them home - limited both of their intake of food - pushed pedialyte.  They both seemed a bit hungry, so we gave them a little bit of food, holding our breath that they would keep it in.  After they went to bed, we disinfected EVERYTHING.
• Thursday - Logan had a pretty rough night (which also means, I did too!)  He woke up around 1am, pretty fussy, and after an hour, finally fell asleep.  Woke back up about 15 minutes later and just wouldn't calm down.  Troy suggested he might be hungry, so I got him a bottle of pedialyte and he sucked it down.  After it looked like he was going to keep it down, I gave him some more. He fell back asleep and seemed content.  By now it was 3am.  Got a call around 5am.  Oh NO!  My mom had been up since 3am - she was sick now.  So, I decided to take the day off.  I figured it would wasn't a bad idea anyway...the boys seemed good previous mornings only to throw up later in the day (on my poor mom nonetheless).  Logan woke up early...hungry again.  I thought I'd attempt a bottle of milk and he was so happy.  Poor little guy was starving, but I was afraid to give him too much too fast because I feel like that is what happened to cause him to get sick again - reintroducing too much food at once.  Both boys were pretty clingy all day, but after Troy got home around 3pm and they had small meals and snacks throughout the day, they seemed about 95% better.  I bet tomorrow after we give them their normal meals (versus just bland food they got today), they will be back to normal.  Bad news?  I talked to my mom to see how she was doing this afternoon and she said she was shocked to see my dad home after she woke up from a nap in the afternoon...he was now sick!  What a devil of a flu bug huh?  Luckily it doesn't seem to last long, but dang.  Good news?  I haven't gotten it...(yet?).  My stomach has felt unsettled but I think it is because being thrown up on twice by Logan on Monday just set my stomach off.  I can't remember the last time I've thrown up - seriously, probably about 20 years - so I've eaten very little in the past few days.  Maybe its a mental game, or the nervousness that they aren't 100% well again and might throw up at any point again.  I don't know, but I sure hope, this is out of everyone's system.  

I really hope this week never repeats itself - I sure don't wish this illness upon anyone, and especially seeing little babies sick like this just kills me.  They are so hopeless and can't tell you what is wrong, or what they want.  Not fun.  Lots of cuddles though - I'll never turn that down.

This weekend I hope to just relax.  Relax?  That is not a word in my vocabulary enough lately, but I really want it.  No, I need it.  This week has just drained me.  Troy and I hope to go out and get some birthday gifts for the boys and I want to decide on some last minute little details for their party that is 2 weeks away.  I can't believe it.  I'm so excited!  =)  

Okay, well, I told myself I'd be in bed by 9pm tonight, so it's time to get going.  I hope everyone has a great and sickness-free weekend!

Go Speedy!

It is amazing how drawn to the stairs Ellis is, once we move the gate out of the way.  It was time to take a bath, and Ellis could not wait.



Just over 40 seconds.  Not bad for an 11 month old!  And don't worry, I was right behind him the whole time, to catch him in case he fell back.  It's so cute to me how excited he gets (did you catch his heavy breathing half way up??) to do "big boy" things like go up the stairs on his own.  Yet another reason that if I had to choose who I would chase if they both took off in separate directions, it would be Ellis!

Happy Birthday Daddy

We hope you have a great day today!!!

We love you 

xoxo

No, I didn't forget..

...that our boys have turned 11 months old.  I usually post some monthly happenings at the end of the month, but since I updated quite a few things last week when I was on my mid-winter break, I didn't have much of anything new to say about the boys.  Thus, no blog post related directly to them turning 11 months old.  Hopefully this post will not disappoint some of you that were looking for one...

First of all, happy March.  I'm a big fan of March.  Usually it brings the start of some warmer weather (although I am not complaining of our winter, or lack thereof), flowers, more sun, but you can't forget the birthdays of my 3 favorite boys.  Because of this, I anticipate this month being VERY busy.  Tomorrow is Troy's birthday.  Nothing big planned, but to relax.  His excitement will be coming on Friday.  As for Ellis and Logan's birthday, I just got the invitations printed for their first birthday party today, so those should be going out in the mail sometime this week.  I must spend a little bit of time this coming week to look at other details to the party that need to be taken care of sooner rather than later.  My class is back in full swing too, with my second test this week.  Can you believe I just found out the score from my first test last week (3 weeks after we took it!)?  Between taking so long to get our results back and having to wait 30 minutes after my scheduled appointment for my test to even show up at the testing center, this professor isn't on my list of favorites at this point, but I can't complain too much - I got a 96% on the test!

In order to celebrate this month, Troy's birthday gift is a kayak with all the extras.  Last summer, a co-worker of his, Austin, introduced him to kayak fishing.  He had an extra kayak that Troy borrowed from him for a few trips out, but Troy loved it so much he decided he wanted one of his own.  So, he found a fishing/kayak store in Wyandotte and purchased it in January.  He'll be going to pick it up this coming Friday, so he's very excited about that.  I got a 3 month early birthday gift too (thanks to receiving our taxes back so promptly!) -- my very own "big girl" camera.  It's actually quite similar to Troy's, but it takes video too.  I tried playing around with the video earlier, but resorted back to my point and shoot to take a few videos because I didn't have time to read the owners manual to figure out how the video setting worked.  What a birthday month it is around here!

Now, on to the boys.  They have been quite busy lately, with Ellis just cruising around and Logan right behind him. Today, I caught Logan pushing around Bella's bin of toys.



Because both boys seem to just want to move everything around, on my trip to Target today, I picked up a cute little walker toy, that transitions into a riding toy when they get a bit older.  Of course the boys were napping when I put it together, but once Ellis woke up from his nap, all he did was go back and forth in our living room pushing that thing around.  Logan liked it too, but of course Ellis hogged it for most of the time.

We found out today that Ellis also knows how to turn my iPad on.  They are instantly drawn to the iPad (or any other computer-type device), so it was funny when Troy was done using my iPad, he put it down and Ellis crawled right up to him and hit the button to turn it on!  Most of the time, I turn it on and the most they do is flip between pages of apps, but I've never seen him actually hit the button to turn it on himself.



It's scary to think how tech-savvy they are going to be if they are already so drawn into it now!!

Alright, well, I'm going to cut this post short for now.  More later -- time to relax a bit before bed!