Teething

These boys are teething like crazy lately. I decided to give them some teething biscuits one day to see if that would help. I remember my mom using them with my little sisters all the time. These guys loved them. I only had to fish out the chunks they bit off a couple of times after some rounds of gagging.

'Lijah Bear - he's the most cranky about his teeth lately. He just started grinding them today. Yuck - I hate that sound!

Little Ems - just wants to chew on EVERYTHING! I love that he's not super cranky too. Thank you Ems!

My Messy Boy

Elijah is so funny. He loves to be messy. He will have the smallest amount of food on his hands yet some how he will get it all over his face. He HATES getting his hands and face washed too.

I love you 'Lijah Bear...my Messy Boy!

A Trip to the Zoo (for free!)

The Friday before Mother's Day, we took Nana with us to the Woodland Park Zoo. David's friend from work got us in for free (his Dad works there) so that was awesome! We got free parking, a special little tour, and some tokens for the carousel. It was a short visit but everyone had a good time. The boys were awesome! I think they enjoyed the fresh air and change in environment. They loved being with Nana too!

When I asked Ethan the night before what he wanted to see at the zoo, he told me an elephant, a zebra and a lion. Mommy wanted to see the monkeys. We saw all but a lion. We got in a bit of a rush in the end so we had to skip a few things. One thing we couldn't skip was the carousel. This was Ethan's favorite part. It was fun to see how excited he was to ride on the horse all by himself.

This was his response when I told him that the ride was over and he had to get off.

Some of the monkeys that were on Mama's list.

I tried to get a pic of Ethan on this elephant (I think I have a pic of myself and my sisters on it in my old photo albums) but he wasn't excited about it...he was also falling off.

Ethan's favorite animal right now.

Nana and the boys. This was the end of the trip...everyone was tired.

Elijah and Nana are the only ones smiling.

Just before we left, Ethan spotted a little booth/truck thing selling popcorn and treats. He called it a treat truck. Since we hadn't had to spend any money, I figured I would get him a treat. He chose some cookies.

Yummy!

As soon as he was finished with the cookie, he was out. You can't see it but there are cookie crumbs all over his face and his blanket. Silly sweetie!

Ethan's Big-Boy Bed

For some reason, I got the sudden urge to change Ethan's crib into the toddler bed last Friday morning. I was changing sheets and thought, hmmmm, he's a big boy so maybe he should try his big boy bed. I figured if it was a disaster, I could slap the side of the crib back on and try again in a few months.

This was his first reaction...

You can almost see the "woooo hoooo!" coming from his mouth.

So, nap time went exceptionally well I would say. I went up twice after hearing him playing around and reminded him that it was sleepy time. After that, he found a nice cozy spot on the floor and fell asleep.

I was worried about how the night was going to go - kind of anxious knowing a toddler could be on the loose at 3am. He did well again by just staying in his room at bedtime, played a while and then fell asleep.

When we checked on him before we went to bed, here's where he passed out...

We put him back into his bed and hoped for the best. He got up once around 2:30 and opened his door (I heard it on the monitor). He just kind of stood there until I got up and helped him back into bed.

What a sweetie!!!

The second day he wanted to come out of his room a few times for naptime but I just kept putting him back into bed. Since then, I think he's pretty much gotten the idea and feels comfortable with the new level of trust he's been given. He's been getting up pretty early but I am hoping that's just a phase. Good sleeping Bud! I'm so proud of you, Ethan!

Picnic at the Park

Last Saturday was beautiful and so I decided we needed to spend a good chunk of it outside, since the morning was kind of crazy with loads of whining. We packed up our things, some lunch, a couple of toys and headed out to the park. There's one in Sumner by the train station that we like with lots of open grass, picnic tables and park equipment for Ethan to climb on. Surprisingly, it wasn't crowded. We found a nice shady spot under a big tree and had some fun.

I really enjoyed just being outside with my boys. Ethan and I had so much fun together swinging, sliding, playing chase over the bridge. Then he played by himself and some of the other kids while I played with the babies. They were loving being outside and just being so sweet to each other. When I was holding them both on my lap together, Emren just kept reaching over and grabbing Elijah's head and giving him big kisses.

I just really loved our day at the park boys. Thank you for the sweet memories!

Sleepyhead

I was playing super catch-up duty the other morning and had Emren playing in the jumper upstairs. I went down to grab the laundry and got totally distracted with a bunch of other things that needed attention. By the time I got back up there, poor Emren had given up on me. It was only past his nap time by 10 minutes but I guess I've got these guys programed pretty well.

He's so sweet - especially when he's asleep!

Pics of Mother's Day

Our "Family Picture" on Mother's Day - poor Emren looks a bit frightened.

Mama and her miracle babies - 'Lijah and Emren

Mama and her Ethan - our favorite past time...wrestling/tickle monster.


Ethan helping Mommy open her card.

Mommy and Ethan smelling the "Stress Relief" lotion - mmmmmm! Good job Daddy!

Things I Love About Being a Mom

There are many things I love about being a Mom, but here are a few I could think of:

• The kisses and snuggles. (Please boys, don't take this one away from me, no matter how old or cool you get.)
• Getting the children up in the mornings. There's just something about a brand new day and the kids' beautiful faces that makes me smile ear to ear.
• Singing all the songs my mom sung to me.
• Seeing my children discover something new. The world is such a mystery to them and everything is new and exciting and special. Their faces show it too.
• Being the one they come to when they have an owie that needs a kiss. I love to fix things.
• Feeding them. I love to make good, healthy things for them to eat. I feel so happy when I help their bodies grow and help them like to take care of their bodies.
• Going to the park, the library, the store, or on any kind of outing with them. I always have a buddy.
• I don't have to commute to work. After commuting to downtown Seattle everyday, I really love not having to stand/walk in the cold, rain or snow just to get to work with messy hair and makeup after the train and bus rides. I can start work in my pj's if I want to.
• I can play cars, play outside, color, play with playdough, wrestle, sing and dance all "on the clock."

Mother's Day

Well, the babies had a bad night Saturday night and were up about 4 times. If it were one baby, 4 times is yucky. Since there were two, 8 times is just NOT good for anyone. It brought back memories of the old days and those memories are just too fresh to be funny yet. David got up once so that was nice but let's just say it was a rough night.

I got up later than usual, trying to get a few more minutes of rest before everyone needed attention. I wasn't feeling well (to say the least) and was super tired on top of it. The babies did not want to cooperate with me in the "feeding" department and so it took an extra long time to get their tummies full. Then, instead of bathing them the night before like I try to do, I had to give them a bath in the a.m. After everyone was finally ready, I jumped in the shower and tried to get ready to race out the door in less than 30min. I was not feeling peaceful and was really not feeling the "happy to be a mommy" feelings I wanted to be feeling on this special day.

After church, David had to stay to do financial clerk stuff so I took everyone home to get them ready for naps. Ethan was a pretty good sport but the babies were just not happy. They screamed from the time I got them out of the car, through their baby food feeding, diaper changes and outfit changes until they went down for a nap. Once everyone was napping, I was MORE than ready for my Mother's Day nap! David picked up the disaster and was on baby monitor duty while I got my wonderful, peaceful nap. Well, peaceful until Ethan woke me up by a screaming tantrum.

It was just kind of funny...I guess just a typical day in the life of, huh? Why would I expect halos to magically appear on top each of the children's heads and for everything to be perfect just because of a certain day on the calendar.

David was super thoughtful though and got me a very sweet card, a box of dark chocolate truffles (my fav) and some "stress relief" aromatherapy products. He tries really hard to make me feel special and loved...I am so grateful for that. He never puts pressure on me to get such and such done or have this and that a certain way. He knows I'm trying my very hardest (most days) and is completely happy and proud of me for it. I KNOW my children will learn from his example. It makes me happy that they'll know how to treat their wives too. Mommy loves Daddy!

Update on New Foods

Since the squash, the boys have tried apples, sweet potatoes and zucchini. 'Lijah Bear is getting over his dislike of new foods and is doing great at eating now. His new favorite that he gobbled up tonight is the sweet potatoes.

Emren has started to lose interest in his bottle and I was getting worried. I thought it was so weird that he wanted less and less milk but then realized that it was only because he wanted more cereal and food. I guess they are just growing up so fast, I can't keep up with them. I'm so distracted with Ethan's craziness and just the fact of there being two of them that I don't catch things as easily as I did when Ethan was a baby.

The zucchini was not a hit.

I think it was a bitter batch because even I thought it tasted yucky.

Emren is telling me how it is.

I think shortly after this pic, he gagged and then threw up.

Sorry Ems! I won't try it again on you for a while.

Accomplishments

Just this last week, 'Lijah has mastered sitting up all by himself. He occasionally falls, but half-way catches himself. It's so great that he can sit up, see all the toys around him and grab the ones his wants. I love it! He loves it too!

'Lijah Bear loves to smack the toys down on his legs or the floor and make as much noise as possible.

Emren is still working on it. He doesn't have quite as much chub as 'Lijah to hold him up.

Good Job Emren!

A couple of seconds later...Oops!

Oh, so big!

My Emren...he's such a cutie!

I was playing with him the other night before pj's, testing out his standing up skills.

I can't believe he's so big now - big enough to stand so well.

He looked like a buff little dude when I was holding him up this way...

the camera didn't quite capture it the same way.

I love his chub!!!

I love you...

Every night I put Ethan to bed, right before I leave I say to him, "I love you, Daddy loves you, Heavenly Father loves you and Jesus loves you." The other night, he said back to me for the first time, "and Mommy?" I said yes. "and Aye-Aye (which is Ethan in his own language)?" I said yes. "and Brothers?" I said yes and he seemed content with that.

I love that he knows his family and feels very much a part of it. I think he feels loved. That makes me happy.