The big 4 (months, that is)

Wow, another month down. I can't believe that the boys are already 4 months old, but then again it seems like they've grown so much this past month. Where do I begin --

• At 14 weeks, Logan made his first back to belly move, as shown here. And now, more often than not, he prefers to be on his belly. You put him under the activity mat on his back and within seconds sometimes, he has turned over. Very funny, unless it is too soon after he eats and he starts spitting up.
• Just one week later, Ellis rolled from back to belly, as shown here.
• We have been gradually loosening their swaddle, in hopes of "weaning" them out of it soon. They seem to be getting a bit long for it, so I don't want to have to rely on them too much longer. They first took a nap unswaddled on 4th of July, and we have tried to do it every so often, so we'll see how that transition goes.
• They are sleeping wonderfully! They average 10 hours of sleep every night, but have slept as much as 11 hours 50 minutes in one stretch. Although every so often one of them wakes up and needs to be soothed back to bed, more often than not, they sleep straight through. YIPPIE!!! The best is when I go in to check on them in the morning and they are awake but just laying there oh-so-content and when they see me, they get the biggest grin on their face...talk about making me smile!
• They have gotten quite chatty as you have probably seen in past posts. They are just hilarious with how much squeaking they are doing.
• They have also been drooling A LOT lately, and sticking anything they can in their mouth. I have read that the first tooth can be anywhere from 4-7 months, but I've also read that they can show signs of teething long before a tooth comes, so who knows. This past week in particular they have been a bit fussier than normal and some naps have been shorter than normal, so I'm not sure if they just don't need as much sleep lately, if teething really is starting, which is causing some fussiness, or if it is because we have been out and about more than normal this week.
• They have become very good at holding on to things with both hands. Right now, I predict Ellis will be left-handed and Logan will be right-handed and Troy thinks both will be right-handed. I am basing it off of what hand I see them hold things in mostly and Troy is just totally guessing off the fact that both him and I are right handed (and he just said Bella is right-footed..oh dear!). They are even starting to grab things in front of them when they are on their belly.
• They have also grown into their 3-6 month clothes (for the most part -- depending on the brand, some clothes are still a bit big), and we've had a blast dressing them up. We got some very cute onesies a while ago that they finally fit into, and some adorable outfits. Although onesies are very convenient right now and good for the summer, I just LOVE dressing them in those cute little outfits on those special occasions.
• I have survived my first weekend alone with the kids. Troy went up to Cadillac for the weekend to visit the Ouwingas and go fly-fishing, so it was just me, the boys, and Bella. Thankfully we were able to keep busy by visiting Grandma Frahm on Friday and then Val came over on Saturday. Both days the boys seemed to give us a run for our money, so I am definitely grateful for the extra set of hands in helping calm them down. Thanks again guys!
• Our 4 month appointment is scheduled for Friday and we'll see how much they've grown and unfortunately they'll get their next round of shots...ick! More updates then.

Reading and Projects and Talking, oh my!

This post is a bit overdue, but we've been so busy the past few days that I haven't had time to fill you in, so here goes...

First of all, Grandma and Grandpa Bush came to visit us this weekend and we had a very enjoyable visit with them. It seems like it has been so long since they've visited, so it was fun that they got to see everything that the boys have been up to lately. The boys got some presents too -- lots of books! Grandma and Grandpa got them the Clifford book and the matching stuffed Clifford doll, and her friend Gena bought the boys the Little Critter books and board books. We always love getting new books. Thanks again!

While they were down, Troy and Dan were going to clean up our fir trees in the front yard. After looking a bit closer and trying to figure out what to cut off, they noticed that it looks like the trees are slowly dying. The inner part of all the branches have no needless on them, so "cleaning them up" would actually make them look more bare. So, ironically, a landscaper was working across the street so Troy went to talk to him and got a quote for cutting down the trees and planting a new maple tree, so that might be something we do in the fall. That, and cleaning up the corner that is full of flowers in a few weekends, which is a hot mess right now, and replanting some of those flowers elsewhere, and our front yard will be good to go (for now!).

We would also love to finish the basement but when we got a quote last fall, we didn't think it would be a good idea to spend all the money with the boys coming in the spring. This weekend, Dan decided to measure our basement and go to Home Depot with Troy and get prices on finishing the walls, ceiling and fixing up all the electrical and lighting. We'll worry about the flooring at another time (probably by winter) since we can do it on our own, but looks like all of that is within our budget now so we are hoping that can be done in the near future.

As for the talking, Logan and Troy had quite the conversation on Sunday night. They wouldn't tell me what they were talking about -- "boy talk" daddy said, but I thought it was very cute!

Yesterday the boys and I joined Nicole, Morgan, and Parker at the Detroit Zoo. It seems like forever since we've seen them, so it was good to catch up...and now that I think about it, I think I did all the talking...what a surprise! Sorry Nicole for talking your ear off! The boys did pretty good, until we stopped and changed diapers (Logan just HATES the loudness hand dryer in the bathroom but I don't think its possible to go in there when its not busy and someone is using it...). Once we got them back in the stroller, we were good to go. Here are a few pictures from the day:

And Morgan oh Morgan, you never fail to amaze me. She mentioned that she wanted to see the lions and we were headed to see the tigers so I said "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!" and Morgan repeated it. I asked her if she knew what movie that was from and she confidently said "yup!" I knew that she saw Wizard of Oz recently (well, more like in the spring I think), but I definitely wasn't expecting her to remember that line. So I followed it by "What movie is that in Morgan?" and she said "Wizard of Oz" without having to think twice. I about died. Whatever that girl is exposed to, even just one time, is stuck in her mind. What a smarty!

Happy Saturday!

Is anyone else as happy as Logan is, that it is the weekend?

This is how I found him this morning when I was pumping (which is why I couldn't get closer). He was just "talking" away to his little sleep sheep. Such a happy little guy!

Who's who?

We haven't played this game in a while. They turned 16 weeks old yesterday and I hate to admit it but I confused who was who yesterday (hey, Troy did today, so we're still even!). Looks like we might look into a DNA test at our upcoming appointment -- we're still curious if they are identical or not! I've read that 25-30% of babies that are in different sacs and placentas could still be identical -- they could have just split early...did ours?

Who's who?

What's better?

What's better than having two cute, happy, smiley babies? Having them all ready for football season!

Oh yeah, and what's even better than that? Having those cute, happy, smiley babies sleep 10 minutes short of 12 hours straight last night!

Oh what a weekend!

This has been a very fun weekend for us. Yesterday, Troy and I were able to enjoy day 2 of our anniversary by going out to dinner at the Rochester Chop House and seeing the moving Horrible Bosses (and a huge thank you to my parents for watching the boys so we could go out for the night!). The dinner was amazing and we could have practically rolled out of there because we were so full. I started with a wedge of lettuce (their version of a salad) and had the Pan-roasted Chicken which was cooked in a white wine sauce and served with artichokes and garlic mashed potatoes. Troy also had a wedge of lettuce and had Sante Fe Swordfish with lobster and crab cakes, and a side of asparagus. Their desserts looked like they were to die for, but we probably would have burst if we had another bite. The movie was absolutely hilarious and I will look forward to seeing it on video again once it comes out. A must see for anyone looking for a good comedy!

Although it is a day late, its fun to look back to where we were 2 years ago and 1 year ago on our anniversary:

2 years ago -- Cabo San Lucas, Mexico -- the entire wedding (well, vacation actually) was perfect. We had a blast and actually hope to go back there soon...

1 year ago -- Paris, France, on day 3 of 4 before heading to Rome, Italy:

Sacre Coeur -- a church at the highest point in Paris, and strangely, a local hangout (note all the people sitting on the steps -- this picture was taken right at midnight!)

The view of the Eiffel Tower from Sacre Coeur. Right at midnight it starts blinking and twinkling, but obviously I wasn't able to capture that on camera.

No big vacation planned this year, but maybe once the boys get a bit older we can start up again!

Speaking of boys, Ellis said he wanted the spotlight today, with a new first for him!

Way to go Ellis!!!

(And why is it so hard to just keep my mouth shut during a video? As much as I tell myself to just shoot the video without all the commentary, that is easier said than done, so please excuse all my talking...)

Luckiest Girl Alive

Yes, I am referring to myself. I feel so blessed to have the family and friends that I do, but I feel especially lucky to have the wonderful husband that I do. Two years ago today, we walked into the Rochester Hills Courthouse (yes, romantic I know, but we had to be married officially in the US and not just have our ceremony in Mexico, so what better way to do it than that?) and got married in 30 seconds, literally! Then we enjoyed a lunch with our parents, my grandma, and Troy's brother Shaun, before making sure everything was packed up to leave for Mexico the next day!

Whether I said this today, or on Saturday (our Mexican Wedding Anniversary date), here goes. Troy, the past two years have been amazing. You always seem to know how to make me smile and go out of your way to make sure I'm happy. It's the little things - the foot rubs, having dinner ready when I get home, just knowing when to leave me alone because I just need my time, giving me a hug and kiss when you get home from work, knowing the best possible day to bring home peanut donuts -- I could go on and on -- but it's those things that count. It is also the big things we've done -- buying our first house, getting our first puppy, traveling to Paris and Rome, and of course starting our family.

We just work well together. You remind me to "just live a little", don't freak out about money so much, you only live once! You also try your best to get me to slow down. I am a bit OCD and many times feel so rush to get everything done, but Troy reminds me that there are more days to come. Not everything on the list needs to get done today -- yes, I'm an OCD listmaker -- even worse! I need to treasure every day I have, especially now that we have our two most awesome little boys. There is no reason to rush the days.

I could go on and on, but Troy, simply put, I love you with all I have. I appreciate everything you do and everything you are, for not only me, but our boys too (and can't forget Bella!). These past two years have been amazing -- I can't wait to see what we have in store for the many more years we will share together.

On a less mushy side, I am also the luckiest girl alive because the best husband alive got me an awesome anniversary gift (even though we agreed to not get each other gifts...how does that work?). A new Vera Bradley bag and wallet....love it! I forgot to mention that he is also a great gift buyer! I never hinted at a bag like this, but it's awesome...he hit the nail right on the head with this one.